13.08.2022, Washington.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s swing across the African continent is intended to counter Russia and China, professor of international relations at the University of California Tanguy Struye said, the Le Echo Belgian newspaper reported on August 12.
On Thursday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken completed his visit to the small African republic of Rwanda located in Central Africa to the south of Sahara, near the Great African Lakes. Before that, he visited the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Africa.
According to observers, the newspaper stresses, that was US’ reaction to the African swing of the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who in less than five days in late July visited Egypt, Congo, Uganda, and Ethiopia. “From the very beginning of the special operation in Ukraine, the African countries have tacitly supported Vladimir Putin. Most of them abstained in the UN voting,” Struye said.
According to professor, the West has no monopoly any longer, and the Africans have a choice, i.e. Russia and China! The African leaders do not want to obey the Western demands of “good” governance. The Western people will have to find a fine balance between human rights and their own interests.
According to Struye, Blinken’s and Lavrov’s visits to the Democratic Republic of the Congo were not disinterested. “Congo is the country with the greatest reserves of cobalt on the globe, which is a critical component for smartphones and PCs, in particular,” Tanguy Struye reminds.
Apparently, professor continues, the operation for “seduction” of Africa is not won in advance for the United States as 15 out of 19 cobalt mines are already under Chinese control, so the US is unlikely to change anything because it has no real strategic partners on the continent.
“Of course, all is not lost. The US still has its Africa Command, Africom, based in Stuttgart, Germany, and two major bases on the African continent. One is located in Djibouti (1,000 to 2,000 servicemen) to control Suez, the Horn of Africa, and the Arab Peninsula, and the other is a drone base in Niger, which fights against Jihadists in Sahel,” Struye comments.
Also, he adds, rotations of servicemen training are made in some African countries. The United States also has strong relations with Rwanda after Paul Kagame came to power. Therefore, Blinken’s visit to Kigali was definitely necessary.
However, he believes that the US “awakening” is a little too late. The Russians and the Chinese, if they come, they have an economic and military potential, which means this is serious and for long.
Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency
