African countries are ambiguous on the Russia-Ukraine war while the west has a clear stance on the subject
Since, the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, global geopolitics has created a tug-of-war, putting pressure on the countries to pick sides or make their stand clear on the issue.
With Europe and the US characterized Russia’s attack on Ukraine as a ‘war’, Africa continues to be neutral.
French President Emmanuel Macron paid a visit to three African nations last month and during this tour, he made sure that his views on the war in Ukraine were clear. He very diligently pointed to the fact that how African continent is ambiguous and fears acknowledging a war when it is one.
During this time Russia’s foreign minister Sergey Lavrov landed in Uganda and was on a four-nation tour to win the support of the continent.
Who’ll win Africa’s support Lavrov or macron?
With African leaders having their reasons to tilt towards Moscow, both Lavrov and macron wanted to win them over.
Lavrov didn’t question the decisions of the African nations, he wrote in a newspaper column in Egypt, “we appreciate the considered African position as to the situation in and around Ukraine.”
On the other hand, Macron was quick to imply its upper hand on the issue.
Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni praised Russia for being a partner in its struggle against colonialism which once dawned on the continent.
Obscure nature?
State media coverage of zimbabwe, which has loose diplomatic relations with the west, has taken a seat on the Russian side.
The Herald, a state-run daily describes Russia’s attack on Ukraine as a “special military operation”.
To look in the background the ruling party of zimbabwe shared historic relations with Russia when the country was fighting for its independence from Britain.
This favorable support towards Moscow could be because it provided military support and training to various African nations during their fight against colonizers.
African support of Moscow came into the picture when 17 out of 54 African nations abstained from voting on the war in Ukraine in the UN General assembly
West has also accused Russia of disrupting the global supply chains. Following this narrative, Africa has found itself weighted with its consequences.
In order to persuade and charm the nation, Macron tried to impose the threat of Russian colonialism.
This race to charm and persuade the continent was joined by the U.S. last week with the visit of US secretary of state Antony Blinken, who preached that the continent should embrace Washington’s vision of democracy and economic partnership.
A Russia-Africa summit is on the calendar in October in Ethiopia which will bring some important developments.
