Tatyana Dovgalenko: “Russia and African Countries Continue to Deepen Cooperation”

In the leadup to the Third Russia-Africa Summit, Director of the Department for Friendship with Africa of the Russia Foreign Ministry Tatyana Dovgalenko shared some insights.

– Ms Dovgalenko, in our interview last year we discussed in detail Russia’s interaction with various African integration associations, from the African Union to the Confederation of Sahel States (AES) and sub-regional structures. However, today the continent is witnessing a complex dynamic as the Sahel countries have withdrawn from ECOWAS and created their own alliance, while within the African Union there are discussions on how to preserve a unified agenda amid the growing number of sub-regional groups. In your opinion, how should Russia build its policy so that, on one hand, it supports new independent alliances (such as the AES), and on the other, does not weaken the institutional role of the African Union as the primary voice of the continent? And does this kind of multi-vector approach, when external players begin to choose their preferred partners within the continent, create risks for Africa itself?

– First of all, I would like to note that the African integration architecture has historically been built as a multi-level system. In it, continental and sub-regional mechanisms exist in synergy. That is why all African states are members of the African Union, and the overwhelming majority of them simultaneously belong to several sub-regional organizations.

The Confederation of Sahel States (AES), consisting of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, does not aim to undermine pan-African unity. The emergence of this formation is a response to the tasks facing these countries, primarily in the field of security, and, in our view, does not pose institutional risks to the African Union.

To avoid the multi-vector approach you mentioned and to ensure greater coherence in African integration, annual coordination meetings between the African Union and the main sub-regional organizations have been proceeding regularly since 2019. The establishment of a full-fledged dialogue between the African Union and the AES will follow the same logic. Russia is ready to assist in solving this task.

Strengthening cooperation with all continental associations is among the foreign policy priorities of our country. In the Russian Foreign Ministry, the Department for Partnership with Africa, which was established in 2025, handles coordination in this field. Our approach is based on respect for the sovereign right of African countries to independently determine the formats and directions of their integration participation.

We are making systematic efforts to improve the contractual and legal framework. In February 2026, an action plan for cooperation was signed with the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), focused on launching a number of joint projects. Similar documents are being prepared with the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) are in the final stages of preparation. Memorandums with the East African Community (EAC), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and the aforementioned COMESA are in the final stages of preparation.

– To date, not a single African country has joined the sanctions against Russia. However, Western pressure is not limited to diplomacy. The United States has adopted the law on “Countering Malign Russian Activities in Africa,” European countries are pressuring African banks with threats of secondary sanctions, and Western media systematically discredits Russian projects on the continent. Considering these circumstances, how does Russia maintain (or even expand) its presence in Africa?

– Indeed, Western “democracies” use any means available, from political and economic blackmail to anti-Russian propaganda and disinformation, to pressure African countries and force them to abandon mutually beneficial cooperation with Russia.

The illegitimate restrictive measures imposed by the West against our country have provoked a serious crisis in the global economic system and have hit African countries hard, creating food and energy problems for the continent. The restrictions imposed by the EU and the United States have led to difficulties with payments and logistics, which in turn have disrupted global supply chains and caused an unprecedented rise in prices.

It is perfectly clear that the architects of these restrictive measures were fully aware of their negative consequences for the Global South, but deliberately ignored their interests in order to pursue their own selfish desire to maintain global hegemony.

Despite the artificially created difficulties, we remain reliable partners for Africans. We have supplied fertilizers on a free-of-charge basis to meet the urgent needs of our African friends, although, as is well known, Western actors have tried to sabotage this purely humanitarian act. In 2026, Russia sent 770 tons of food aid to Mali and 20,000 tons of mineral fertilizers to Niger.

Today, countries of the Global Majority are clearly demanding equality, openness, and genuine partnership in international relations, including in trade. Our African friends understand perfectly that Western restrictions are a neocolonial practice. The joint statement following the ministerial conference of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum in........

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