WASHINGTON, May 27. /TASS/. The majority of African countries understand very well the purpose of Russia’s actions in the Ukrainian conflict, Ambassador at Large, Head of the Secretariat of the Russia - Africa Partnership Forum, Oleg Ozerov said.

"Most of them did not need explanations as to the rationale of Russia's actions in Ukraine," he said in an interview with Newsweek published on Friday. "People in Africa understand very well that the former Soviet republic has turned into an arena of confrontation between the new and the old world paradigms, between different visions of the future," the diplomat explained.

He noted that the Russia-Africa International Parliamentary Conference held in late March "shattered the myth of Russia's alleged isolation due to the events in Ukraine." Ozerov noted that the conference drew representatives from 40 out of the 54 nations of the continent, which is a clear majority. He stressed that the delegates came under the conditions of unprecedented pressure, threats and blackmail on the part of the collective West.