In a tour aimed at countering Russian diplomatic influence in the region, South Africa's Foreign Ministry announced the arrival of U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken Sunday in Johannesburg before heading to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and then Rwanda

Blinken's visit came on a tour aimed at countering Russian diplomatic influence in the region, shortly after the African tour of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov

South Africa has taken a neutral stance since Russia's invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, refusing to join Moscow's western denunciation.

Blinken meets with Secretary of State Naledi Pandor to make several announcements regarding the US government's new African strategy, Pretoria said in a statement.

The talks deal with "recent and current developments in the global geopolitical situation", according to the statement.

At the end of July, Blinken will try to demonstrate to African countries that they have a fundamental geopolitical role and are very important allies in the most pressing issues of our time, as well as in developing an open and stable international system to reduce climate change, food insecurity and global pandemics.

After Johannesburg, Blinken visits both the Democratic Republic of the Congo and then Rwanda, which is experiencing a resurgence of tension with its neighbour, which it accuses of supporting the "M23" rebels, which Kigali denies.

Prior to the Russian attack on Ukraine, American diplomacy in Africa was focused on competition with China, which made important investments in infrastructure on the African continent without attaching its investments to demands for democracy and human rights as the United States does.