Putin is wooing Africa - and the feeling is mutual

Russia is seeking allies and expanding its influence abroad as its war in Ukraine drags on. African governments, meanwhile, are cozying up to the Kremlin for reasons of their own. As he hosted the third Russia-Africa Summit in Moscow this week, President Vladimir Putin portrayed Russia as a better partner for Africa than the West, which he accused of exploiting the continent’s resources, maintaining a colonial approach and using debt to hold back development. Russia, he argued, offered a different model of cooperation, one which allowed both parties to prosper through closer ties in trade and technology. “Our business does not engage in the predatory, neo-colonial exploitation of natural and human resources,” Putin said, adding that Russian companies supported local job creation and tax revenues. Delegations from 48 of Africa’s 54 countries attended the two-day gathering.