VLADIVOSTOK, September 12. /TASS/. Russia has never and nowhere acted as a colonizer, unlike the Western countries, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF).

"In my opinion, the main thing is that we have never been colonizers anywhere. Our cooperation has always been built on an equitable basis or on the wish to help and support. Those countries which are trying to compete with us now, they had a completely different policy. When people compare what happened in the past in cooperation with Russia, with the Soviet Union, as it was called then, and with other countries, of course, everything is in Russia's favor. Of course, today we should take this into account and keep it in mind," he said.

He noted that African countries remembered Russia's assistance in their struggle for independence.

"The historical memory of those peoples with whom we were on friendly terms, with whom we communicated, and whom we often helped in their development is still there. It is not difficult for us to restore relations On new principles, because people in these countries want to. This concerns Laos. We see many friends there. It is true of the Asia-Pacific region as a whole. The same applies to Africa. Just recently, the Russia-Africa summit was held. Frankly speaking, I was surprised once again by the openness of Africans and their wish to work with us. I’ve also thought about it all the time. It's not just that we did something for Africa, that we helped people there to gain freedom and independence and to fight colonialism. It's very important. They remember everything," the Russian president said.

Putin remarked that the Africans would never forget how their children in the 1950s were brought to Europe to be shown in cages.

"If you look at Africa, at our cooperation, you will see that yes, we helped, but what were the former colonizers doing at the same time? Back in 1957 - I was shown some photos recently - people in cages were brought from Africa to European countries, say, to Belgium. It was impossible to look at them without tears: children in cages on display. They brought people in cages and showed them to the public: whole families. Some children were kept in cages separately. How can you forget that? No one in Africa will forget it," Putin said.

Neocolonial policy

The Russian president added that Western countries were still "trying to command" and to pursue a neocolonial policy in Africa.

"They have burdened all countries in Africa with multitrillion debts in dollar terms. In other words, they have created such a credit and financial system with African countries within the framework of which African countries will never be able to pay back the loans issued to them. It is not a credit relationship. It’s robbery. You see, we have quite different approaches. This gives us certain advantages in working with our partners, both those with whom we had special relations back in Soviet era and those with whom we are building relations anew now. Our friends feel this, too. Therefore, I do not see any great problems here, including in regaining our previous positions," Putin concluded.