MOSCOW, June 30. /TASS/. The West should treat African countries "like adults", but African representatives talk about brazen pressure, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday.
"Leave alone the rest, so to speak, of the global majority - the countries of Asia, Africa, Latin America. Treat them like adults, respect their right to listen to the assessments of Russia and the assessments of the West, and then decide for themselves what their position will be," he said.
The upcoming Russia-Africa summit in July will present the future path of Russia's cooperation with the countries of the continent for the next several years, Lavrov added. "Most of the countries will be represented at the highest level, a big declaration is being prepared. A document is being prepared that will set out plans for interaction between Russia and African states for the medium term of several years," he said.
An economic forum and a media event will be held as part of the Russia-Africa Summit in St. Petersburg in July, Lavrov added. "An economic forum and a media forum will take place on the sidelines of the leaders’ summit. It will be a very big event held across several venues. I am sure that it’s going to be interesting," he noted.
According to Lavrov, "the majority of [African] countries will be represented at the highest level." "A major declaration is being prepared, a document that will set out a plan for cooperation between Russia and African nations for the next several years," Russia’s top diplomat said.
The second Russia-Africa Summit and Economic Forum are scheduled to take place in the Russian city of St. Petersburg on July 26-29. The first summit, dubbed "For Peace, Security and Development," was held in the Russian Black Sea resort city of Sochi on October 22-24, 2019.