ST. PETERSBURG, July 28. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has supported Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki's proposal to create a mechanism of strategic partnership between Russia and African countries, as well as the possibility of including Latin American and Asian countries in it.

"I fully agree: if we do not think about the short and medium term, then even today it will be difficult to achieve any concrete positive results that we need, so the creation of such a mechanism of strategic partnership is a very important thing. It is like a beacon that shows us the way, the direction of our movement. Of course, it is a complex work. If you suggest comparing it with the capabilities of our partners and friends from other regions, Latin America, Asia, then, of course, the best platform for creating such an instrument is consultation with our BRICS partners," the president said at the plenary session of the second Russia-Africa Summit.

Putin added that Russia and South Africa will try to jointly promote the Eritrean president's proposal on the BRICS line. "We need to think about it. It is difficult, especially in the sectors, but if we want to achieve concrete results, we need to think about it now, I agree," the Russian leader pointed out.

The second Russia-Africa Summit is taking place at St. Petersburg’s Expoforum on July 27-28, in parallel with economic and humanitarian forums. Similar to the first such summit in 2019, the event is being held under the rubric "For Peace, Security and Development." The event is being organized by the Roscongress Foundation. TASS is the event’s official information partner and photo-hosting agency.