MOSCOW, July 12. /TASS/. Russia is going to build a stable system of cooperation with Africa which won’t depend on the West’s policy, Russian Ambassador-at-Large Oleg Ozerov, who heads the Secretariat of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum, said on Tuesday.
"We have major work ahead which will involve building a stable system of effective economic ties with the African continent which wouldn’t depend on Washington’s or Paris’ policy and would allow us to work in the national interests of Russia and African states. I am confident that we will do this and will accomplish the significant part of work in time for the second Russia-Africa summit," he said during a Moscow - Lagos (Nigeria) video conference on global food security challenges.
The diplomat noted that "the Western states with their actions have practically blocked the traditional ways of Russia’s interaction with the African continent." "The positive part is that we intend to build direct contacts and ties. This is not about bypassing sanctions but about building our own system of relations in the sphere of finance, logistics, legal regulation and interaction between integration and subregional unions," he added.