Foreign Ministry rebuked the West for putting pressure on African countries

African countries that want to take part in the Russia-Africa summit are under pressure from Western countries.

This was stated by Oleg Ozerov, Ambassador-at-Large of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, head of the secretariat of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum. His words are quoted by RIA Novosti.

According to him, there are statements by Western politicians pointing to this in open sources: the Internet and the media. Ozerov noted that this state of affairs does not delight the African states.

“We proceed 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,” he added.

The second Russia-Africa summit is scheduled for July 2023 in St. Petersburg.

Earlier it was reported that Russia hopes to launch direct flights with South Africa by the summer of 2023. As Ozerov noted, the launch of direct flights will contribute to the development of tourism between the countries.