Edited by| Alexander Yanxiana

politics- Russia section editor- CJ

February, 10-2023 - Moscow

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       The Russian Foreign Ministry's ambassador, Oleg Ozerov, who is at large and the head of the secretariat of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum, said on Thursday, that there is pressure from the Western countries on the African countries that want to participate in the Russia–Africa summit which is the second.
The Russia–Africa summit is supposed to be held next July 2023 in Saint Petersburg, Russia's "northern capital".

But it seems the western countries are practicing something of pressure to prevent the African countries from joining the summit as Ozero confirmed ;

"Of course, this is all in the public sphere, it's easy to read on the Internet according to the statements made by Western partners, including those who come to African countries. I can't say that African states are delighted with this. Sheer blackmail," Ozerov said.
He added that Moscow proceeds from the premise that African states are sovereign countries that have independence, sovereignty, and their own political will, and are quite capable of making decisions that meet their national interests.

The event is a follow-up to the first meeting of its kind, which was held in Sochi in 2019. The main topic of this year's summit will be economic cooperation, with a focus on spheres such as energy and mining, agriculture, manufacturing, transport, and infrastructure development, according to official statements.

The Russian Foreign Ministry also announced that the agenda of the 2023 summit will be more extensive than that of the first one, and a full section on humanitarian cooperation will be organized.
As Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted, Moscow is inviting all African countries to the Russia-Africa summit, in contrast to the United States, which excluded several African countries from the US–Africa Leaders' Summit.
source | sputink