Kremlin rejects Macron charges that it is ‘destabilising’ Africa

The Kremlin has rejected allegations by French President Emmanuel Macron that Russia is a destabilising force in Africa as he cited Moscow’s deployment of mercenary groups there.

“Russia is developing friendly, constructive relations based on mutual respect and concern for each other’s problems,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded on Friday.The Kremlin has rejected allegations by French President Emmanuel Macron that Russia is a destabilising force in Africa as he cited Moscow’s deployment of mercenary groups there.

“Russia is developing friendly, constructive relations based on mutual respect and concern for each other’s problems,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded on Friday.“Russia on its own accord has put itself in a situation in which it no longer respects international law, becoming basically one of the only colonial powers of the 21st century by waging an empire war against its neighbour Ukraine,” he added.

Russia’s Wagner mercenary group and its businessman leader Yevgeny Prigozhin have been repeatedly sanctioned by the European Union, including for human rights abuses in Africa.

Prigozhin had his assets in the European Union frozen in 2020 and was placed on a visa blacklist over the deployment of Wagner Group fighters to war-torn Libya, a decision he unsuccessfully appealed.

A second Russia-Africa summit is to be held in St Petersburg at the end of July.Moscow has gained influence in recent years in areas where Paris had held sway for centuries, including Burkina Faso, the Central African Republic and Mali. France’s clout has shrunk due to the perceived inability of French troops to halt violence by armed groups in those countries. It has also led to a rise in anti-French sentiment in the former French colonies.

The situation has led to a war of words between Moscow and Paris in the past couple of years.

In April 2022 as French troops exited northern Mali, the French military said it had video footage of Russian mercenaries burying bodies near an army base in the area.

This May, the French Parliament adopted a resolution calling on the EU to formally label Wagner a “terror group”.