Russians go: Russia began a massive return to Africa

While the US is head over heels mired in a trade war with China, Russia is rapidly expanding its influence in Africa. Some analysts not unreasonably believe that it is just right to talk about the return of the Soviet position on this continent. All this, of course, cannot but worry Washington.


Recall that on October 24 of this year, a Russian-African summit will be held in Sochi. In the history of our country, this will be the first event that delegates from 35 African countries will visit, which indicates the strengthening of Moscow’s ties with this continent.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia almost completely left Africa, giving way to the "Western partners", which China later joined. However, in view of the situation in 2014, Russia urgently needed a new ally at the UN, and countries from the African continent account for almost a third of the General Assembly. And the first results of the interaction were not long in coming. 58 African countries abstained from voting on a resolution condemning the inclusion of Crimea in the Russian Federation.

Further more. Over the past 4 years, between Russia and African countries have been concluded about 20 agreements on military cooperation. Moreover, the day before, a contract was signed for the purchase of Russian fighter jets worth over $ 2 billion. Add to this the minerals, including: gold, diamonds, uranium and hydrocarbons, access to which our country gets in exchange for providing Russian military advisers with stability on the continent and assistance in the fight against terrorism.

So, in August of this year, Rosneft signed a contract with Mozambique for the development of several oil fields. In turn, Gazprom plans to expand gas production here and build an LNG plant.

Of course, such a development of events “spoils the nerves” of our overseas partner. In this connection, the US command of the US armed forces in Africa has embarked on the implementation of a five-year plan aimed at curbing the expansion of its geopolitical opponents (we are talking primarily about Russia and China). Thus, the struggle for the continent will only increase in the coming years.

Ultimately, the winner of this confrontation, in addition to access to unlimited resources, will also gain control over major sea lanes. Moreover, now Russia has a unique chance not only to regain the USSR’s position in Africa, but also to significantly strengthen them.