Russia will sign security agreements with African states – media

Russia will sign security agreements with African countries at a major summit in St. Petersburg later this month, TASS news agency reported on Sunday, citing diplomatic sources. 

“The agreements cover cooperation in space, anti-terrorism measures and security, economic and humanitarian cooperation,” the report said. It added that the countries would adopt “a politician declaration.”

The Russia-Africa Summit will be held on July 27-28. While the exact number of participants has not been revealed, delegations from all 54 African countries attended the first event in 2019. That year, more than 40 heads of states arrived in Sochi, a Russian resort on the Black Sea coast, according to the organizers.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Saturday that African leaders will discuss the Ukraine conflict with President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the event. A group of countries, which includes Egypt, Senegal, Zambia, and South Africa, presented a ten-point roadmap to peace between Moscow and Kiev during their trip to Ukraine and Russia last month.

The summit will take place during the ongoing standoff between Russia and NATO members, with Moscow accusing Western countries of trying to impose a “neocolonial agenda” on Africa and other parts of the world.