MOSCOW, May 13. /TASS/. Africa already views Russia as the continent's main guarantor of stability and security, and Moscow is not worried about other countries trying to take its place as such, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said in an interview with the New Eastern Outlook magazine.

"Russia, never one to shy away from a fair competition, is ready for exactly that as it offers itself to Africa, first of all, as a major guarantor of stability and security while extending its traditional and newly generated competencies, sometimes unique," said Bogdanov, who also serves as Russia’s special presidential representative for the Middle East and African countries. "Judging from the response from our African partners, in the Sahara-Sahel region, for one, and across the continent, too, there is a growing demand for the assistance being provided by our country," he added.

The senior Russian diplomat described Africa as "the continent of the future," a place of "truly inexhaustible natural and human resources" with "an increasingly large and high-margin market." "Therefore, there is ongoing competition among external players for 'a place under the African sun,' and, apart from traditional rivals acting through the 'collective West,' it has increasingly involved representatives of the 'Global East and South,' namely China, India, Turkey, the Persian Gulf, Southeast Asia, and Latin America," he explained, saying that this long list may grow.

In building its cooperation with African countries, Russia hews to the position that the African continent is a new, versatile, and unique global pole of power that is evolving rather than an arena for confrontation between large global players, Bogdanov maintained. "Russia is ready to actively assist in strengthening the existing potential of African countries without putting forward any political terms or giving unwanted advice," he said as he described this as Russia’s competitive advantage.

Meanwhile, supporting the sovereignty of African nations and ensuring national security of countries on the continent is a priority for Russia, he concluded.