Putin: Russia will continue to provide aid to African countries in various fields

The President of Russia, Vladmir Putin, has said that his country will continue to provide support to African countries in various fields, including in the fight against terrorism.

In his speech to the participants of the First Ministerial Meeting of the Cooperation Forum between Russia and Africa read by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Sergey Lavrov, today Sunday in the city of Sochi in Russia, he said "Our country will continue to provide full support to our African friends in various sectors '.

Putin said, Russia can help African countries "sustainable development, fight against terrorism and extremism, fight against epidemics, food problems and the consequences of natural disasters ."The two-day high-level meeting comes after two summits between Russia and Africa in 2019 and 2023 . 

For his part, Lavrov has said that the relationship between Russia and Africa has been strengthening more and more. Russia  wants to show that Western sanctions aimed at isolating it from its attacks on Ukraine have failed .Russia was a major player in Africa during the Soviet Union era and has exerted influence on the continent in recent years.