Africa and Ukraine are “in the same boat”, declared Thursday October 13 the head of the Ukrainian diplomacy, affirming that “
every Russian rocket does not only strike Ukrainians, but also affects the quality of life of Africans
” .
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kouleba was on tour last week and earlier this week on the African continent, where he visited, among others, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Ghana and Kenya.
Dmytro Kouleba had cut short his stay in Africa on Monday, following massive Russian strikes on Ukraine.
"Illegal annexations"
“
We are in the same boat
”, hammered Dmytro Kouleba during a virtual press conference organized with African media, referring in particular to the impact of the war on “
world food security
”.
He added that "
830,000 tonnes of grain have been delivered to African countries
" since July.
Ukraine and Russia are among the world's largest exporters of cereals, the prices of which soared after the start of the war.
The opening of an export corridor in the Black Sea has helped to stem this increase.
Dmytro Kouleba also welcomed Wednesday's vote by the UN General Assembly of a resolution condemning the "
illegal annexations
" of Ukrainian territories.
"It's a step in the right direction"
The General Assembly of 193 member states, meeting urgently since Monday, adopted this resolution with 143 votes in favor, against five countries against and 35 who abstained.
"
I was particularly happy to see that the four countries I visited in Africa (...) supported this resolution
," said Dmytro Kouleba.
Eritrea, one of the most closed countries in the world which had rejected the resolution in March condemning the invasion of Ukraine, this time abstained.
“
It's a step in the right direction
,” said Dmytro Kouleba.
He also underlined the abstention of the Central African Republic, "
a country which depends militarily on Russia
" where mercenaries from the Russian paramilitary company Wagner have been deployed for several years.
"
Russia's biggest investment in Africa is sending Wagner mercenaries
," he said.
Asked about recent comments by Kenyan President William Ruto, who had said he was open to buying Russian oil, the head of Ukrainian diplomacy said that "
Kenya voted in favor of the resolution
", before continuing that the country "
had the sovereign right to do what it wants
".
Read alsoWar in Ukraine: Africa pleads for export corridors
Dmytro Kouleba affirmed that Ukraine was "
ready to welcome President Macky Sall
", Senegalese head of state and current chairman of the African Union, but that no date had been fixed.
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