This behavior was denounced by Oleg Ozerov, chair of the Secretariat of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum. In an interview with Ria Novosti, reported by RT, he charged that the West is piling up “permanent” pressure on African nations to drive a wedge between them and Moscow. Western diplomats, he said, “are literally discouraging African states not to travel to Russia on a daily basis, bluntly demanding that African nations choose a camp—'either you are with us or against us.’”
In addition to diplomatic pressure, he said, the U.S. and EU are using financial leverage, making financial aid contingent on whether African states attend the summit. He gave details on the agenda, on the dozens of bilateral meetings that will occur, and the “very solid package of agreements” that will come out of the summit. However, he said, “we don’t see African countries following this position of diktat…. It is now evident that the Western bloc is struggling to bend all nations to its position for objective reasons.”
Ria Novosti also reported statements by presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov today referring to the “unprecedented pressure” exerted by the U.S. and French embassies “and other Western missions trying to contribute their share to these efforts in order to prevent this summit from being held and to prevent the representation of African states at this summit.
