The Russian Foreign Minister announced today, in Luanda, that his country will host a Russia/Africa summit at the end of July and highlighted the role of the Angolan President for peace on the African continent.
Serguei Lavrov noted that the next Russia/Africa summit will take place in Saint Petersburg, stressing that Russia at the United Nations will “continue to support” the positions defended by Africans themselves in order to find solutions to conflicts.
“Our positions from the beginning on cooperation in the international domain coincide, we defend the great principles of the UN, namely the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of each State and the sovereign equality of States”, he said.
Speaking today at the headquarters of the Angolan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Luanda, at the end of talks between the Russian and Angolan delegations, Lavrov also defended reforms and increased participation of developing countries, especially African, Asian and Latin American countries, in the Council of UN Security.
Russia “supports the efforts of the African Union, SADC (Southern African Development Community) and the effort of Angola, including the personal effort of President João Lourenço, towards the pacification of Africa”.
“And President Lourenço is playing a particularly important role in chairing the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region”, he stressed.
Speaking to journalists, alongside his Angolan counterpart Téte António, at a press conference without the right to ask questions, the Russian minister also spoke about the conflict in Ukraine and criticized “Western efforts to transform Ukraine into the stage of hybrid warfare against our country”.
“We also call Ukraine’s attention for carrying out a clearly colonialist policy against Russians living in that country”, he stressed, arguing that his country’s offensive aims to protect Russians who are in Ukraine.
“Precisely to protect this population that has become the target of illegal actions in Ukraine, and also to protect our own security, we launched the military operation about which we regularly share information with our friends”, concluded Serguei Lavrov.
The talks “reaffirmed the importance of our open dialogue, in the spirit of friendship”, added the Russian official, inviting his counterpart to visit Russia, to continue the talks.
For his part, the Angolan minister, Téte António, followed a line of greater equidistance in relation to Ukraine and referred that the war “has not had consequences for all of humanity, but has caused several destructions and losses of human lives”.
“And, taking into account our historical relations with Russia and also the relationship we have with Ukraine, we believe that by applying the principle of non-indifference here, defended by the African Union, and in the face of these consequences of the war, we continue to call for a negotiated dialogue solution and we continue to defend the need for a ceasefire”, insisted the Angolan official.
