Russia takes its partnerships with African countries into account in the Black Sea Initiative talks, Senior Researcher in International Relations at the Institute for Global Dialogue at UNISA Mikatekiso Kubayi told Sputnik Africa.
"The relationship between Russia and Africa is very strong, and as with any partnership that Russia has, it's in its interest to look after those particular partnerships," the researcher emphasized.
At the same time, negotiations regarding the Black Sea Initiative are "entirely about Russia and Ukraine processes," the expert said, commenting on the recent US-Russian talks, which Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said focused on safe navigation in the Black Sea.
"The issue with any negotiations over the Black Sea with regards to Africa and grain imports is stability and regularity of such imports, that matters a great deal for the African continent," he added.
Russia Stands Up to Unilateral Sanctions, Inspiring Global Confidence
"Russia gives a lot to the world: a sense of confidence that finally there's some sort of outfit, some sort of reality that can stand up to unilateral sanctions," Kubayi stated.
Unilateral sanctions are problematic and should be a tool of the United Nations, not individual countries, the researcher added, commenting on Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's words that food security in Africa, exacerbated by Western sanctions, is a concern for Russia.
Despite African opposition, powerful countries continue to impose sanctions on other nations, as seen in the case of Zimbabwe, he noted.
"There are some countries that are simply more powerful than others; it's a problem in the world. And those that are powerful have tended to impose themselves on others, including on issues such as the unilateral application of sanctions," the expert pointed out.
Moreover, unilateral sanctions are an unjust and ineffective tool hurting the African continent, Kubayi continued.
"The problem with unilateralism is that you'd have a self-interested imposition of sanctions, which is very problematic and often unjust," he said.
Unilateral sanctions against Moscow are "making life difficult for Russia's friends", negatively impacting even those African countries that do not sanction Russia, hindering their ability to do business due to Russia's exclusion from global systems, the expert noted.
"Unilateral sanctions, once again, have never been a solution to anything; in fact, they've not proven successful at all in many cases," he concluded.