Africa not to be intimidated by Western threats over ties with Russia

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
19 Feb 2023 16:08
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Uganda's Foreign Minister noted that his country's military cooperation with Russia is a matter of "life and death" and that Uganda is determined to preserve it despite the intimidation and threats of Western sanctions.

The dispute over Israel’s observer status to the bloc was set in motion in July 2021 when then-chair of the AU Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, accepted unilaterally the country's accreditation. (Reuters)

Uganda's Foreign Minister Abubaker Jeje Odongo told Sputnik in an interview on Sunday that the West has no right to dictate with whom Africa should or should not entertain diplomatic and economic ties and that African nations have a "very clear view" and know "who an enemy is."

"We were colonized, and we forgive those who colonized us. Now the colonizers are asking us to be enemies with Russia, who never colonized us; is that fair? It is not, so for us, their enemies are their enemies, and our friends are our friends. There should be exclusion, there should not be interference on that matter," Odongo said.

The minister further noted that his country's military cooperation with Russia is a matter of "life and death" and that Uganda is determined to preserve it despite the intimidation and the threats of sanctions issued by the West.

"Most of our military equipment is Russian-made and so, in spite of the so-called sanctions for Uganda, to continue to defend itself it must continue to renew the equipment it has. So the question of sanctions, it is tricky, but for us, it is a matter of life and death. And we will continue because we must survive," Odongo added.

The minister further pointed out that Uganda and Russia share a long history of diplomatic ties, stretching back to the 1960s, and that student exchange programs between the two countries have been ongoing for a long time.

He further confirmed that Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni will participate in the upcoming Russia-Africa summit, which will take place in Saint Petersburg in late July.

On January 27, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned during an official visit to South Africa that the US would respond very quickly and harshly to violations of anti-Russian sanctions, regardless of the nature of the entity breaching the sanctions.

"Violation of those sanctions by local business or by governments—we would respond to quickly and harshly, and we certainly urge that there be compliance with those sanctions," Yellen said during a press conference in South Africa.

She also said in response to a previous question that she had discussed the US sanctions regime with the officials of every country she visited during her tour in Africa.

"We have discussed sanctions really in every country that I’ve visited and my main message is that we take very seriously the sanctions that we’ve placed on Russia in response to its brutal invasion of Ukraine," she said.

On February 9, the Russian Foreign Ministry's ambassador-at-large and the head of the secretariat of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum, Oleg Ozerov, said that the West is pressuring African countries seeking to take part in the Russia-Africa summit.

"Of course, this is all in the public sphere, it's easy to read on the Internet according to the statements made by Western partners, including those who come to African countries. I can't say that African states are delighted with this. Sheer blackmail," Ozerov said.

"We proceed from the premise that African states are sovereign countries that have independence, sovereignty, and their own political will and are quite capable of making decisions that meet their national interests," he added.