26 of 56 countries refused to condemn Moscow.. This is how Russia's war against Ukraine affected Africa

Addis Ababa -

Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, the continent of Africa has been proceeding cautiously, above a delicate line, separating a complex balance, to maintain acceptable levels of relations with the two parties to the conflict in the Ukraine crisis, with the aim of minimizing - as much as possible - its effects, as the brown continent faces A difficult challenge, requiring it to respect the balance of power, so as not to harm its national interests, as a result of any uncalculated step.

In a panel discussion held in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, that brought together African diplomats, researchers and officials of the African Union, the participants concluded that Africa, despite its lack of any role in this crisis, can not escape the consequences of this global conflagration, and participants expressed their concern that the impact of the crisis It will be heavy on the continent, due to the weaknesses that exist in its countries.

Economic Effects

The researcher in African economics, Kanti Isotoe, explained that in the short term, all countries of the continent will be affected by the rise in oil prices, and its direct effects on the cost of transportation, and consequently the prices of other commodities. 23 African countries depend on Russia and Ukraine to import wheat, and the continuation of the war would affect supply chains, and raise the cost of imports, such as what happened in 2014 when Russia annexed the Crimea, and added, “In countries where politics is closely intertwined with the price of bread, its rise It is a concern."

United Nations reform

William Kanerig, Senior Adviser to the African Union on Governance and Peacebuilding, stressed in his speech that the war in Ukraine, as much as it is considered a crisis, is also an opportunity to emphasize the ineffectiveness of the current United Nations system, and therefore Africans should strengthen their efforts to reform the UN Security Council, noting that Africa has the right Participation in shaping the future world order, and exercising its correct role, in proportion to its geographical and political size.

The African Union has previously presented a project to reform the UN Security Council that includes equitable representation in the Security Council, increasing the number of its members and working methods, the issue of veto, and the relationship between the Council and the United Nations.

Differing positions

The crisis of the Russian war on Ukraine revealed the size of the divergence in the positions of African countries, while the African Union Commission issued a statement condemning Russia’s war on Ukraine, it was not the case among African countries, at the United Nations General Assembly meeting last February to vote on a draft resolution Condemns Russia Africa had an impact on the outcome of the vote, with the continent's 54 nations accounting for 27% of the vote.

Twenty-eight African countries voted in favor of the condemnation decision, while the positions of 26 others ranged between abstention, absence and rejection, which Peter Fabis, a researcher at the Institute for Security Studies in Africa said, reveals a set of governance standards and visions for Africa, influenced by interests and ideological and military ties, both with the camp Western or with Russia.

Fabis attributed this division to two factors:

- The first: the desire of some countries to achieve balance and impartiality, especially since they have economic, political and military relations with Russia and China, which are apparently allied with them, and therefore do not want to lose this camp.

The second: It is related to some countries’ rejection of the content of the resolution from its foundation, as they favored advancing more dialogue and reconciliation instead of condemning, as well as the lack of transparency during consultations on the draft resolution, according to the justifications of some countries.

The war in Ukraine revealed the level of divergence in the attitudes of African countries towards the warring parties (Getty Images)

Russian-African relations

Since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, and its subsequent isolation from the international community, Moscow has searched for more partners, turned to Africa strongly, and proceeded to develop its bilateral trade with Africa, and played an important role in supporting many countries through security assistance, training and supply. With weapons and military technologies, which made it popular with many African countries.

The cooperation between Moscow and Africa culminated in the Russian “Sochi” hosting in October 2019 the first Russian-African summit, which was scheduled to be held every 3 years, to discuss issues of strengthening partnerships between Moscow and African countries, as the second summit is scheduled to be held in October next in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

A united African position

Mata Segana, President of the African Peace and Security Council for the current session, expressed his concern about the lack of clarity of vision and the divergent views of African countries towards the war in Ukraine, stressing the need for Africa, as a continent, to start looking for the best ways to respond and deal with this crisis and its repercussions to come up with a clear position.

Sijana pointed out that each country's individual handling of the crisis will make it vulnerable to harm, and therefore a coordinated, joint and collective response is required from all African countries, stressing the need to take an African position that stems from the needs of the continent, not from the needs of others, and that Africa must defend interests without taking sides, adding, "We must engage in African-African discussions on how we will respond to identify these features of the crisis."

The symposium discussed how African governments maintain their relations with the parties to the conflict (Al-Jazeera)

The destiny of development and peace

On the effects of the crisis on development projects and peace initiatives, especially those funded by external partners;

Jean Kamau, Kenya's representative to the African Union, stressed that the war in Ukraine will require increased Western attention and a change of priorities, and therefore political attention and financial resources are likely to be shifted away from Africa.

These concerns are reinforced by the fact that more than half of the budget of the African Union is funded by external partners, such as the European Union, and Western countries individually, which necessitates - according to Sergio Brial, a specialist in African Union affairs - to seriously strive to enhance the financial independence of the African Organization, especially since reliance on External partners undermine the ability of the African Organization to respond effectively, as well as to make a decision, and Sergio did not rule out that the Western camp - with the escalation of the war - pushes the African Union to adopt a biased position, as a condition for continued support and funding, as he put it.

Sergio stressed that the challenge now lies in African governments maintaining their relations with the parties to the conflict, with the changing geopolitical context, so that they are not stuck between a rock and an anvil, noting that with the continuation of the conflict in Ukraine, African countries will need to manage their relations skillfully with conflicting partners, to protect their political interests. economic and security, even if it has had to make some difficult choices.