Russia President Vladimir Putin recently hosted some 47 African leaders between October 23 and 24 in what the Kremlin described as the Russia-Africa Summit.
Putin said in an interview before the Summit that Russia would help Africa without “political or other conditions” – in a clear reference to the West.
“We see how an array of Western countries are resorting to pressure, intimidation and blackmail of sovereign African governments,” Putin told TASS news agency, ahead of the Summit with African leaders.
“They are using such methods to try to return lost influence and dominance in their former colonies in a new guise and rushing to pump out maximum profits and to exploit the continent,” he added.
The Summit, which took place at the Black Sea city of Sochi, was Moscow’s first Russia-Africa summit and part of an ambitious push for influence and business in Africa. It was co-chaired by Egyptian President and African Union Chairman Abdelfattah Alsisi.
In this article, Face2face Africa looks at what some of the Africa leaders said: