MOSCOW, June 7. /TASS/. Moscow is grateful to its African partners for refusing to join the anti-Russian campaign, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a reception at the Foreign Ministry on the occasion of Africa Day on Wednesday.

"I would like to express my gratitude to our African partners who have not let themselves be dragged into the anti-Russian campaign and who have taken a balanced position on the European security crisis," Lavrov said.

The top diplomat said that as Russia and Africa are strengthening their positions "as centers of a multipolar world, additional opportunities are opening up for the development of our ties." "As true friends, we are building cooperation on the basis of equality, respect for international law and non-interference in internal affairs," he stressed. "Russia provides honest assistance to the countries of the continent in strengthening their sovereignty, ensuring security and economic growth," he went on to say.

"This is where we fundamentally differ from the collective West, which has failed to shed its superiority complex and seeks to perpetuate neocolonial practices," Lavrov added.