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African countries themselves should resolve crises - Sergey Lavrov

Commenting on relations between Russia and the African Union, Lavrov said it was necessary to intensify the efforts in different fields

MOSCOW, April 29 (Itar-Tass) - Russia’s position is that conflicts in Africa should be resolved by the countries themselves while the international community should respect their decisions and support their efforts, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

Speaking at a news conference after the talks with chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC) Nkosana Dlamini-Zuma on Monday, Lavrov said, “We seek to intensify partnership with the African Union.”

The organisation “plays an important role in regional and international affairs, in the settlement of conflicts on the continent”. “We believe it necessary to step up the efforts by the African peoples themselves to search for ways to resolve crises where they are in Mali or the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic, Somali and other states of the continent,” the Russian minister said.

Commenting on relations between Russia and the African Union, Lavrov said it was necessary to intensify the efforts in different fields. “As for economic relations between both parties, Russian business is in demand in Africa.”

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The Collective Security Treaty came into force on April 20, 1994 to herald the emergence what would eventually become the Collective Security Treaty Organization. The six member-countries are Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan

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