African states 'important, reliable' partners of Russia, says Putin

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday said African countries were "important and reliable partners."

In a message to participants of the 36th meeting of the African Union Assembly, Putin said that over the years, the African Union has established itself as an effective mechanism for multilateral political, economic and humanitarian cooperation.

He praised the union as "an influential international organization," which "plays an important role in settling local conflicts and crises and strengthening neighbor relations, security and stability on the African continent."

"For Russia, African states have always been and remain important and reliable partners. We are united by the desire to build a just multipolar world order based on true equality and the rule of international law, free from any form of discrimination, coercive diktat or sanctions pressure," he said.

Putin added that the first-ever Russia-Africa summit, held in 2019 in the Russian resort city of Sochi laid the groundwork to step up Russian-African relations, both bilaterally and multilaterally.

"I am confident that the second summit in this format, to be held in St. Petersburg in July, will allow us to set new goals for expanding cooperation between the Russian Federation and its African partners in a wide range of areas, such as addressing topical issues on the regional and the international agenda," he said.