Russian FM kicks off three-country ‘charm-offensive’ tour of Africa in junta-led Guinea

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has kicked off his three-country African tour in junta-led Guinea, part of a fresh push to bolster support for Moscow from countries on the continent, amidst Russian isolation on the world stage.
Russia’s top diplomat arrived Monday (3 June) in the capital Conakry on his latest visit to West Africa, which has seen some countries shift their allegiance toward Moscow amid a string of coups, growing insecurity and discontent with traditional allies like France and the United States. Lavrov reportedly met with his Guinean counterpart Morissanda Kouyaté to discuss areas of mutual cooperation. Guinea remains poor despite considerable mineral and natural resources and has endured decades of dictatorial rule. Guinea has been ruled by a military junta since 2021 when Col. Mamadi Doumbouya seized power saying he was preventing from slipping into chaos and accusing the previous government of broken promises.
While Russia saw its relations with the West plummet after its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, more than half of African countries, including Guinea, abstained from UN resolutions calling for a withdrawal of Russian troops. It wasn’t immediately clear which other countries were on his itinerary later this week. Some news say that Lavrov was expected to arrive in the Republic of Congo late on Monday evening, but according to other sources, he is expected to continue his tour in Chad and Burkina Faso. In July last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted a number of African heads of government at the second Russia-Africa summit in St Petersburg where he said they agreed to promote a multipolar world order and to fight neo-colonialism.