Putin enters contest for Africa after humbling U.S. in Middle East
-- After restoring Russia as a key power in the Middle East, President Vladimir Putin is turning his attention to Africa to raise Moscow’s profile in the struggle for geopolitical influence.
The two-day summit in Sochi co-hosted with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, the current African Union chairman, is an effort to revive former Cold War relations, when African regimes often allied with Moscow in the ideological contest with the U.S. before the Soviet Union’s collapse. It’s “an unprecedented, benchmark event,” Putin told the state-run Tass news service in an interview published Monday, calling stronger links with Africa “one of Russia’s foreign policy priorities.
While it’s never been entirely absent from Africa, the Kremlin’s renewed focus has largely involved a two-pronged strategy so far, shoring up unstable regimes through informal military contractors while offering defense and energy cooperation to other states. Russia, which has written off $20 billion of African debts, plans to offer financing to states with little access to capital markets. It has also inked defense-cooperation accords in recent years with about 15 African nations. State atomic energy operator Rosatom Corp., meanwhile, is seeking contracts across the continent including in Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria and Zambia.
Even so, he’s faced setbacks. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa froze a multibillion-dollar nuclear power project with Russia after he took office last year. Protests against longtime Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir, who enjoyed Kremlin backing despite an international arrest warrant against him for alleged genocide, led the military to oust him in April and share power with the civilian opposition.
Brasil Últimas Notícias, Brasil Manchetes
Similar News:Você também pode ler notícias semelhantes a esta que coletamos de outras fontes de notícias.
Putin Shows Russia’s New Power In Syria, Seeks Influence In AfricaThe deal, reached during talks which the Presidents Putin and Erdogan held in the southern Russian resort of Sochi, confirms Russia's role as the pre-eminent outside power in the Middle East.
Consulte Mais informação »
Russia-Africa summit: How Putin is challenging the U.S. and China in a new continental racePutin will welcome dozens of African leaders to the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Wednesday for the start of a two-day event.
Consulte Mais informação »
Harry and Meghan's Africa Documentary Will Air on ABCPrince Harry and Meghan Markle's ITV documentary shows an inside look at their African tour and how their lives have been affected by the British press. Find out how to watch here.
Consulte Mais informação »
Trump Attitude Toward Ukraine Influenced by Putin and Orbán: ReportTwo of Trump's sources for forming his opinion on Ukraine were regional authoritarians with open hostility for the administration in Kiev
Consulte Mais informação »
Washington Post: Putin and Hungarian Prime Minister disparaged Ukraine to TrumpPresident Donald Trump's urging of Ukraine's President to investigate political rivals coincided with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban pushing a disparaging view of the country to Trump, The Washington Post reported on Monday.
Consulte Mais informação »