Russia’s Biggest Advantage in Africa

 

The hype around Moscow’s activities on the continent gives it more credit than it deserves.

By Ekaterina Zolotova and Abubakar Alhassan 

There’s been much talk of late about Russia’s growing presence in Africa, and indeed, it has many military and economic operations throughout the continent. Russian mercenaries are present in several African nations, including Libya and the Central African Republic. Moscow is in talks on strengthening military cooperation with Mozambique and building a new military base in Sudan. And just in the past three months, the Kremlin signed military cooperation agreements with both Nigeria and Ethiopia. However, given the relative size of Russia’s presence here and the fundamental problems it will face if it wants to increase its involvement further, the concerns Western countries have raised over Moscow’s engagement on the continent are overblown. Other outside powers – most notably, the United States, Europe and China – have much bigger footholds on the continent, and there’s little reason to expect that to change anytime soon.

Russian Interests

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