Russia-Africa: the St. Petersburg summit gets underway tomorrow

  The second Russia-Africa summit will kick off tomorrow, July 27, in St. Petersburg,... which will see the participation of as many as 17 African heads of state (plus four heads of government). An important appointment, now in its second edition (after that of Sochi in 2019) and which this year takes on even more significant importance. The summit, which will last two days and will also include a Russia-Africa economic and humanitarian forum, comes in the context of the conflict in Ukraine and, above all, just over a week after Moscow's failure to renew the wheat agreement. A coincidence of times that does not appear causal, and which denotes Russia's clear will to grab shares of the Ukrainian market in Africa, increasing its earnings thanks to the rise in the price of wheat and at the same time presenting itself as a "friendly country" of the African continent .

“Despite the sanctions, Russia will continue to work vigorously to deliver grain, food, fertilizer and other supplies to Africa,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a statement titled “Russia and Africa: Joining efforts to peace, progress and a successful future”, clearly implying the objectives of the summit. The choice to interrupt the agreement on wheat - mediated by Turkey - presents a series of undoubted advantages for Moscow, above all that of grabbing shares of the Ukrainian market in Africa, increasing earnings - after the non-renewal of the agreement, the price of wheat grew by 8 percent – and thus circumvent international trade sanctions.