Secretary of state tells reporters in South Africa that US ‘not trying to outdo anyone’ amid growing influence of Russia and China
Blinken told reporters in Pretoria that the US does not see Africa as the “latest playing field in a competition between great powers” and said Washington was not “trying to outdo anyone else”.
“History shows that the poor governance exclusion and corruption inherent in weak democracies makes them more vulnerable to extremist movements as well as to foreign interference,” Blinken said, accusing “the Kremlin backed Wagner group” of exploiting “instability to pillage resources and commit abuses with impunity”.
In a speech that sought to counter Russian and Chinese accusations that the US is a “neo-imperialist power” that wants to dictate to African countries, Blinken repeatedly stressed that Washington wanted to act in consultation with local leaders and communities, reinforcing existing African initiatives.
Lavrov has sought to convince African leaders and, to a much lesser extent, ordinary people that Moscow cannot be blamed either for the conflict or the rising food and oil prices caused by the conflict.“We really advocate for peace”, Naledi Pandor, South Africa’s minister of international relations, said at a joint press conference.
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