Published on : 30/07/2022 – 04:05
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After Sergei Lavrov’s charm operation in Africa, the head of American diplomacy follows in his footsteps and announces an African tour this Friday, July 29. Antony Blinken will travel to Africa from August 7 to 9. A visit intended to reaffirm the geopolitical presence of the United States on the continent against Russia against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine.
With our correspondent in Miami, David Thomson
The Russian Foreign Minister’s African tour has barely ended when the United States is already deploying the counterattack. At the end of July, in Africa, Serguei Lavrov wanted to demonstrate that Moscow was not isolated diplomatically and that the international sanctions against his country would be responsible for the soaring prices of raw materials.
To counter this Russian narrative, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will visit South Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda from August 7-9. A week later, Linda Thomas Greenfield, Joe Biden’s ambassador to the United Nations, will visit Ghana and Uganda, just after the visit to Kenya and Somalia by Samantha Power, the head of the American agency for the ‘Development Assistance.
In a press release, the State Department explains the purpose of these American diplomatic efforts: to show ” to African countries that they have an essential geostrategic role and are crucial allies on the most burning issues of our time ».
► To listen: Agreement on the export of cereals: a “charm offensive” of Russia in Africa
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