ST. PETERSBURG, July 25. /TASS/. The delegation from the Democratic Republic of the Congo led by Defense Minister Jean-Pierre Bemba has arrived in St. Petersburg to take part in the Russia-Africa summit.

Their plane landed at St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo airport, a TASS correspondent reported.

Diplomatic sources said ahead of the summit that DRC President Felix Tshisekedi was planning to lead his country’s delegation at the summit. The reason for the change has not been explained.

Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said earlier on Tuesday that the United States, France and other countries had exerted unprecedented pressure on African nations ahead of the Russia-Africa summit to keep them from participating.

DRC Ambassador to Russia Ivan Vangu Ngimbi said earlier that his country is interested in participating in the forum, since it supports Russian President Vladimir Putin’s idea of a multipolar world and will not support a Euro-centric world any longer.

The second Russia-Africa summit as well as an economic forum organized by the Roscongress Foundation are scheduled to be held in St. Petersburg from July 27 through 28. The first such summit was held in Sochi from October 22-24, 2019 under the motto "For Peace, Security, and Development." TASS is the event’s official photo hosting agency and the information partner.