MOSCOW, December 17. /TASS/. Russia will help strengthen the defense capabilities of African countries and is already assisting in building their capacity to counter internal and external threats, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin said in an interview with TASS.
"In line with the objectives set out in the 2023 Foreign Policy Concept of the Russian Federation — in particular, supporting the sovereignty and independence of African states through the provision of security assistance, as well as facilitating the settlement and resolution of armed conflicts on the African continent — we are contributing to the strengthening of African countries’ defense capabilities," Vershinin said. "We are helping to build their capacity to counter internal and external threats, primarily terrorism," he added.
According to him, prospects for creating a sustainable architecture for Africa’s socio-economic, investment, infrastructure, and technological development are "difficult to imagine without the swift resolution of the acute challenges facing the continent in the area of peace and security." "There are indeed serious problems, and their impact on the situation in Africa must not be underestimated," the diplomat noted. "These include, above all, the threats of terrorism and extremism, transnational crime, internal political crises, interethnic conflicts, and interstate disputes. The situation is particularly difficult in the Sahara-Sahel region, the Horn of Africa, and the Great Lakes area," he added.
Moscow is convinced that effective and long-term settlements in the region’s hotspots can be achieved primarily "with Africans themselves playing the leading role in this process and exclusively in their own interests." "Our approaches in this area are based on unconditional respect for the sovereignty of African states, the principles of mutual respect and equality, non-imposition of ready-made solutions, and the provision of assistance in those areas and to the extent requested by our African partners," the official said. "We consistently support the cornerstone principle of ‘African solutions to African problems’ and the key goal set by the African Union in its Agenda 2063 — to ‘silence the guns’ by 2030," he added.