Angola’s foreign minister this Wednesday asked his Russian counterpart for a ceasefire with Ukraine, while Lavrov, who is in Luanda, recalled Moscow’s solidarity with Angola and blamed Ukraine for the conflict.
Téte Antonio and Serguei Lavrov lead the delegations of the two countries, which will hold the first bilateral meeting this Wednesday as part of the visit of the head of Russian diplomacy to the country, as part of a series of contacts with African partners.
In a speech ahead of the meeting between the two delegations, Téte António reaffirmed his commitment to strengthening and enhancing the bonds of friendship and cooperation that unite the two countries, but spoke of the threat posed by the Russian-Ukrainian conflict to the world peace and insisted on seeking a solution through dialogue
“We will still have the opportunity to address this issue, taking into account your experience, we will listen very carefully to your analysis of this dispute,” Téte António told Serguei Lavrov, encouraging Russian authorities to “take an opportunity for saving the country’s status and prestige, bringing about, as championed by the Angolan President, a final ceasefire capable of restoring a climate of world peace”.
Russia was one of the main supporters of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA, in power) in the Angolan Civil War.
The Angolan minister stated that Lavrov’s visit is “another opportunity to strengthen relations between the two countries” and to deepen cooperation in existing areas and identify new areas such as agriculture, agribusiness and manufacturing industry, among others. recalling that the priority of the executive is the diversification of the economy.
“The two countries are linked by traditionally friendly relations,” which also guarantees frank dialogue from traditional friends about our relations and other matters of interest, he stressed.
While the Russian minister was speaking, the journalists accompanying the meeting were told to leave the room, a situation that made Lavrov question the withdrawal of the press.
According to Mirex officials, Téte Antonio will have indicated that journalists could stay in the room, but the “staff” of the Russian embassy contradicted the orientation, leading all communications professionals to eventually leave the room where the bilateral meeting is still taking place, followed by a press conference.
Lavrov compares the current conflict to the war in Angola
Russian Foreign Minister Serguei Lavrov drew a comparison between the conflict in Ukraine and the war in Angola.
At stake, the Russian minister explained during the meeting with his Angolan counterpart, is the fact that Kiev is harming the country’s Russian speakers, forcing Moscow to intervene to protect that part of the population.
“The same conflict, based on the will of the people to defend their rights, broke out in Ukraine after the unconstitutional coup, after the bloody military coup, the Nazis, declared neo-Nazis, even called for the killing of Russians, Jews, Poles.” , said Lavrov, referring to the overthrow of President-elect Viktor Yanukovych in 2014.
Russia occupied the Crimean peninsula and eastern Ukraine at the time, a conflict that continued into February 2022 with a Russian invasion of the rest of the country, classified by Moscow as a special operation.
Lavrov said that Russia has tried in various ways to end this conflict, but despite that, the Kiev regime has chosen to instigate this conflict by banning Russian language and culture and inviting those associated with it to enter the country. leave.
“The West did not react to these racist and colonialist statements. Furthermore, the US and its allies have done everything they can to cultivate this hatred and make Ukraine a parade ground with the aim of establishing military bases there and threatening the entire region” said Lavrov. .
The “stated goal” of that strategy was “to engage and attract Ukraine into NATO,” he said, recalling the then Soviet Union’s support for the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA, in power) in her war against Portugal. and later in the war against the Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), backed by the United States and the apartheid regime in South Africa.
“The Angolan people are well aware of the price of independence, the price of the free exercise of the traditional rights of every Angolan and in the same way Angola (now) is actively participating in the effort to make peace in other countries for security , peace and prosperity in these countries,” he said, comparing the two conflicts.
Relations between Moscow and the ruling party in Angola have relations that “go back many years, to the period of the liberation war”, highlighting the objective of achieving a strategic partnership between the two countries.
Lavrov also praised Angola’s “balanced” stance at the United Nations on decisions “that divide the international community, namely resolutions related to the conflict in Ukraine”.
Source: DN
