Russia woos African leaders at Moscow summit

A summit with nearly two dozen African leaders opened in Moscow Wednesday, with the Kremlin describing their countries as “natural allies” against the West.
The two-day Russia-Africa summit, the third since 2019, comes as Moscow grapples with heavy Western sanctions over its Ukraine offensive and as it provides security assistance to several African governments.
Moscow has courted ties with Africa since the Soviet era, and has long looked to the continent as a counterweight to what it sees as Western domination over international affairs.
“We are natural allies in building a multipolar world order,” Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said of the summit, referring to a system where political ...