Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, visiting Congo as part of an African tour, yesterday vilified “the West” and its supposed “objectives”, both in Ukraine and in Libya where he said he supported the organization of a reconciliation conference, according to comments collected by AFP.
“We support the initiative of President Denis Sassou Nguesso which aims to organize an inter-Libyan conference,” declared the head of Russian diplomacy to the press, after meeting, in his stronghold of Oyo (center), the head of the Congolese state, president of the African Union high-level committee on Libya.
Since the fall of Muammar El Gueddafi in 2011, Libya, consumed by divisions, has been governed by two rival administrations: one in Tripoli (west) led by Abdelhamid Dbeibah and recognized by the UN, the other in East, embodied by Parliament and affiliated with the camp of Khalifa Haftar, with whom Moscow maintains close relations. “What happened in Libya is a tragedy, the authors of which are NATO and its members,” Sergei Lavrov said. “The same thing happened in Iraq and Afghanistan, where the West wanted to impose its mode of democracy,” he continued. “The most important thing today is to find an approach that will ensure the recovery of the country,” he added. On the Ukrainian issue, “President Sassou has shown understanding”, particularly with regard to “our actions”, declared the Russian minister. “He understands well that Ukraine is the instrument of the West, whose objective is to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia,” he stressed.
According to S. Lavrov, Denis Sassou Nguesso, “like other world leaders”, is convinced that the conference on Ukraine scheduled for mid-June in Switzerland “makes no sense” without Russia’s participation.
The Kremlin also indicated yesterday morning in Moscow that Russia has not ruled out striking French instructors in Ukraine, the sending of which is currently under discussion between Paris and kyiv. “Whatever their status: soldiers of the French army or mercenaries, they represent a completely legitimate target for our armed forces,” Sergei Lavrov told Oyo.
Russia has been leading a diplomatic offensive in Africa for several years to supplant traditional Western powers there. Isolated on the international scene and in search of allies, it has increased its efforts tenfold since its assault on Ukraine in February 2022. Sergei Lavrov’s tour began on Monday in Guinea. After Congo, according to his entourage, he must go to Chad.
