The US, France, other Western countries have tried to coerce African natons ahead of the second Russia–Africa Summit, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.
"Pretty much all African states have been subjected to unprecedented pressure from the United States, the French embassies have not rested and do not rest to this day, and other Western missions are trying to contribute their share to these efforts in order to prevent this summit from being held, to prevent the representation of African states at this summit," Peskov noted.
According to him, such a strategy should be condemned, as "in essence they do not allow the sovereign right of African states to choose their own partners both to enhance cooperation, to interact in various fields and to discuss topical issues."
Earlier, the Russian State Duma Commission on External Interference Investigation said that it will share experiences with African counterparts during the summit on protecting sovereignty and countering external interference.
The Second Russia–Africa Summit and Economic Forum will be held on July 27-28 in St. Petersburg, with delegations from all African countries invited to take part in the meeting.
Recently, Russia's Ambassador at Large Oleg Ozerov pointed out that 49 delegations from African countries and regional organizations such as the African Union have confirmed their participation in the Second Russia–Africa Summit.
South Africa, Eritrea, and Zimbabwe have confirmed that they will be represented at the summit at the presidential level.
According to Ozerov, the summit will see Russian and African leaders adopt a common political declaration, a joint action plan, and three sectoral documents.
In this vein, as the top diplomat noted, Moscow believes that the documents will become a platform for joint work with African countries to forge a new configuration of international relations based on equality and a multipolar world, rather than on "unilateral dictatorship".