Top Russian academic explains rapprochement with Africa

Many African countries have resisted pressure to condemn Moscow over the Ukraine conflict because they see that the West is now using the same methods of “colonial oppression” against Russia that their own continent had suffered from, Irina Abramova, director of the Institute for African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, has told RT.

The conflict in Ukraine has “given a new impetus to Russia’s return to Africa. It tore away the disguises, revealing our true friends and foes,” Abramova said in an interview on Friday.

The African nations “weren’t afraid to speak up against the economic sanctions [on Moscow] and stood firm in the face of enormous pressure from the West. Despite certain inconsistencies during the voting on some of the UN’s anti-Russian resolutions, their behavior was exemplary,” she…