Putin Tells African Leaders at Moscow Summit That Russia Rejects Neo-Colonial Exploitation

Russian President Vladimir Putin told African leaders gathered in Moscow on Wednesday that his country does not take part in the "neo-colonial exploitation" of the continent, a practice he said is still pursued by former colonial powers.

Putin made the remarks at the third Russia-Africa Summit, which brought together delegations from 48 African countries. Of those, 22 were represented by their heads of state.

He argued that Western nations continue to seek access to Africa's resources and use debt as a tool that slows the continent's development. Putin criticised what he called "active attempts by Western countries" to push Africans back into debt and to make them accept badly needed financial resources on predatory terms.

"Africa is increasingly asserting itself as one of the key players in the global economy and politics," Putin told the summit. He added that the rise of a multipolar world "is, of course, no easy task," saying it meets resistance from countries unwilling to accept this reality.

Describing the Russian approach, Putin said: "Our business does not engage in the predatory, neo-colonial exploitation of natural and human resources, but rather expands the processing of raw materials locally, thereby creating new jobs and generating tax revenue."

The Russian leader also turned to food supplies, saying Moscow is ready to widen the geographical reach of its agricultural shipments to Africa. According to Putin, Russia delivered 13 million metric tonnes of agricultural products to the continent in the first nine months of this year alone.

The comments come at a difficult time for global food and farming markets. Attacks in the Black Sea continue to disrupt grain exports from both Russia and Ukraine, while the United States-Israel war on Iran has interrupted global fertiliser supplies.

The summit also unfolds against a tense security backdrop in parts of Africa. Russian-backed government forces across a broad area of North Africa are fighting armed rebellions, and many countries in the region are emerging from military coups that have shaken regional security.

Putin is scheduled to hold one-on-one talks with individual African leaders attending the gathering. Topics are expected to range from trade and security to grain supplies and arms deals. The summit is expected to close with a final declaration on deepening cooperation between Russia and African nations.