ST. PETERSBURG, July 26. /TASS/. Russia should establish strategic alliances with African countries to bolster its own development, as well as to counterbalance the West, Irina Abramova, director of the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of African Studies, said in an article devoted to the upcoming Russia-Africa Summit on July 27-28 in St. Petersburg, published in the Roscongress Foundation journal.

"Today, amid a sharp escalation of relations with the US and the EU, Russia can and must use its African foreign policy orientation in order to meet the goals of its own development and strengthen its own positions in the international arena, establishing strategic alliances and associations to serve its national interests, and, where necessary, as a counterbalance to aggressive geopolitical adversaries," she noted.

The Euro-Atlantic bloc views Africa strictly from a resource, military and geopolitical standpoint and from the position of an entirely predictable global economic development perspective, Abramova said. Meanwhile, all three aspects of this position "are being viewed through the prism of competition with the [West’s] main competitors - China and Russia."

"In these circumstances, the goal of the collective West’s policy in Africa is to preserve and reinforce its economic, political and military influence, using both traditional and updated colonialist methods," the expert wrote in her article.

Interest in Africa

Abramova pointed out the huge interest in the African continent displayed by new players, such as China, India, Brazil, Turkey and the Arab monarchies of the Persian Gulf. For example, they are seeking to expand their trade and economic, financial and investment cooperation with African nations, and ramp up cooperation in the humanitarian field.

"Obviously, Russia will have a hard time competing with other actors, both old and new, in the geostrategic clash for Africa," Abramova acknowledged. "Many may even question if we even stand a chance in this fight."

The expert expressed her certainty that Russia must ask itself "if it has a right to refrain from taking advantage of the opportunities that Africa offers for its own economy and security, and to ignore them only because obtaining such advantages requires responsibility, expenditures and initiative."

Today, Russia is being subjected, "rather successfully, to colonialist methods that previously were applied to African states" for deterrence purposes, Abramova said, explaining that these methods include fueling ethnic conflicts and using terrorists in order to meet political goals; preventing access to modern technologies; bribery and corruption of national elites; replacing undesirable authorities through the tool of domestic social protests; encouraging a "brain drain"; and destroying national, civilizational and cultural foundations through imposing Western values. In this context, studying the African experience may significantly aid Russia in overcoming its own mistakes and in achieving accelerated development in the economy and society at large.