On August 16, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that Kiev had assured a number of West African countries that it would not use weapons provided by its allies to attack targets on Russian territory.
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| Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba (left) during a 10-day tour of African countries in October 2022. (Source: ISS) |
“If our partners ask us to guarantee that such weapons will be used only on Ukrainian territory, we will do so,” Kuleba said at a press conference on August 16. “We have promised this several times and have kept our promises.”
In addition, this official also affirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin's concerns about food security in Africa are "unfounded", while Moscow is the party that withdrew from the grain agreement in the Black Sea.
Also on August 16, the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry accused Russia of pressuring African governments to strengthen relations with Moscow.
“Russia is trying to find ways to keep countries in its orbit… Russia has two tools in Africa, the most powerful of which are propaganda and the Wagner group,” Kuleba said.
At the same time, Foreign Minister Kuleba revealed that Ukraine intends to “invest significant political capital” in strengthening relations with African countries, in order to counter Moscow's influence on the continent.
“We are starting from scratch in Africa,” Mr. Kuleba declared. “The continent needs systematic and long-term work…”
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