Exploiting The Vacuums: Russia And North Africa In The Wake Of The Sochi Summit

The Russia-Africa Summit and Economic Forum, held on October 23–24, in the Russian resort city of Sochi, displayed Moscow’s renewed ambition to play a significant role in Africa (TASS, October 20; The Africa Report, August 19). Increasingly, the Kremlin perceives the African continent as a theater in which it needs to be active to counter the influence of other powers and support Russian global ambitions (see EDM, October 24.)

At Sochi, President Vladimir Putin notably hosted almost all of the top leaders of North African countries. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the Egyptian head of state, co-hosted the Forum in his capacity as leader of the African Union. But the other North African countries were all represented, in many cases at the highest level. Even the new Mauritanian president, Mohammed Ould Ghazouani, attended, despite the fact that as minister of defense, he was considered the most prominent supporter of strengthening his country’s relations with the West (The New Arab Weekly, November 4, 2018). The Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) leader Fayez al-Sarraj was also in Sochi, a particularly significant presence given the role Russia is increasingly playing in assisting the rival forces of General Khalifa Haftar (The Libya Observer, October 24, 2019). Tunisia and Morocco sent delegations led by their respective prime ministers (Morocco World News, October 22).