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African nations resist US by taking non-aligned stance in conflicts outside continent

The summit in Windhoek was attended by the heads of state and government of Zambia, Lesotho, Namibia, Eswatini, and South Africa, as well as relevant ministers from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Mozambique

© REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

PRETORIA, February 1. /TASS/. The Southern African Development Community (SADC), which brings together 16 states in the southern part of the continent, has called on its members to stick to a non-aligned stance on conflicts outside Africa, including the crisis in Ukraine. The decision was taken at the extraordinary summit of the SADC Organ Troika on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, held on January 31 in the Namibian capital of Windhoek.

"[The] summit <..> reaffirmed the stance of Non-Alignment on conflicts outside the continent and the region at multilateral forums," the sides said in a final communique, published on Wednesday on the website of South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation.

With that in mind, the summit adopted the draft African Union Declaration based on the US House of Representatives’ ‘Countering Malign Russian Activities in Africa Act’. According to the African News Agency (ANA), the SADC criticized the US government for trying to unduly influence African foreign policy by imposing punitive measures on those who support Russia in the current crisis in Ukraine.

The summit in Windhoek was attended by the heads of state and government of Zambia, Lesotho, Namibia, Eswatini, and South Africa, as well as relevant ministers from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Mozambique.

On April 27, 2022, the US House of Representatives passed the Countering Malign Russian Activities in Africa Act by a bipartisan vote of 419 to 9. It has been sent to the Senate. The ANA notes that the bill is worded carefully to allow the US State Department to attempt to interfere with Russian policy in Africa, including military assistance and any actions that Washington deems a ‘malign influence.’

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