Vladimir Putin hails the end of colonialism – RT in French

The Russian president sent his wishes to African leaders on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Organization of African Unity, two months before the Russia-Africa summit scheduled in Saint Petersburg from July 26 to 29.

“Please accept my heartfelt wishes on Africa Day,” Vladimir Putin said at the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) on May 25, 1963 in Addis Ababa. A party that has become, according to the Russian president, a “symbol of the victory of the peoples” of the African continent “over colonialism” and of the “desire for freedom, peace and prosperity”.

With the African Union which succeeded it in 2002, it was “possible to put in place collective mechanisms for the settlement of local crises and to launch regional integration processes of various kinds”, still according to Vladimir Putin. An effort synonymous with “socio-economic development of Africa” and its greater “influence on the international scene”.

The second Russia-Africa summit in sight

The Russian Federation today relies on the ties forged by the Soviet Union, which has always supported African countries in their struggle for independence, contributing to their development. Soviet military advisers intervened there and military trainers worked in Angola, Ethiopia, Egypt and Mozambique in particular. In addition, the Soviet Union used its influence extensively to have the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, also known as United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1514, adopted in 1960.

Vladimir Putin expressed confidence in the success of the second summit scheduled for July 2023 in Saint Petersburg: “I am sure that it will allow us to expand our cooperation in a constructive way, in the fields of politics, trade, technical or cultural exchanges.

A first Russia-Africa summit in 2019 had made it possible to renew ties between Russia and its African partners. The Russian ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov, nevertheless noted that this summit was being prepared “in a complex geopolitical context, at a time of radical political and economic changes occurring on a global scale”.

In recent years, Russia and Africa have engaged in a process of rapprochement. In particular, African countries have been less categorical than the major Western powers regarding the war in Ukraine. Countries such as Senegal and South Africa thus abstained at the UN during the vote on a resolution condemning Russia’s action.