Russian President Vladimir Putin (centre) poses with delegation heads and participants at the Russia-Africa summit in St Petersburg in 2023. (EPA Images pic)MOSCOW: Russia will host almost two dozen African leaders in Moscow on Wednesday and Thursday, seeking to further buttress ties with countries it sees as "natural allies" against the West.
The Russia-Africa summit, the third since 2019, comes as Moscow grapples with heavy Western sanctions over its Ukraine offensive and as it provides security assistance to several African governments.
Moscow has courted ties with Africa since the Soviet era, and has long looked to the continent as a counterweight to what it sees as Western domination over international affairs.
