🎙 Opening remarks by Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at a working breakfast with the Foreign Ministers of African countries (Moscow, October 28, 2026) 💬 Sergey Lavrov: I am very pleased to see you all and to welcome you to Moscow for this meeting of Foreign Ministers on the sidelines of the Third Russia–Africa Summit. We know that some of our African friends were actively discouraged [by the West] from travelling to Russia through political pressure, blackmail and threats to scale back assistance programmes. There were even fake reports. I read that there was supposedly an “outbreak of plague” in our country and that people should not travel here. 🤝 We are truly pleased that, despite these unscrupulous manipulations by the West, the overwhelming majority of our friends have come to the Summit and are taking a very active part in its work. Today, Africa is experiencing what we call a second awakening. In the 1960s, when the decolonisation process began, with our country playing a very active role, the primary goal was political independence. Today, having achieved political independence, Africans want to secure economic, energy and financial sovereignty. ❗️ Russia will always be an ally of African countries on this path. We are ready to continue sharing Russian expertise and helping strengthen your independence and sovereignty. This is an objective historical trend towards the emergence of a #MultipolarWorld. The expansion of our diplomatic presence on the continent reflects Africa’s importance to Russian foreign policy. Since the previous Summit in 2023, eight more Russian embassies have opened, bringing the total in the region to 4️⃣8️⃣. We are pleased to see reciprocal steps by our African friends, who are also interested in opening diplomatic missions in Moscow. We are doing everything we can to facilitate this. Today, I suggest that we exchange views on the most pressing international and regional issues that significantly affect the global situation, including our cooperation with our African friends. Read in full #RussiaAfrica