There is pressure from the West on African countries that want to take part in the Russia–Africa summit, and the African states are less than delighted, Oleg Ozerov, the Russian Foreign Ministry's ambassador-at-large and the head of the secretariat of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum, said on Thursday.
"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 second Russia–Africa Summit will take place in July 2023 in Saint Petersburg, Russia's "northern capital". The event is a follow-up to the first meeting of the 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.