Despite the stalemate, the Ecowas chair believes that the belligerents can still reach a peace agreement after eight months of a bloody conflict.
In early June 2022, Senegalese Macky Sall, current chairman of the African Union (AU), visited Russia to discuss with Vladimir Putin the consequences of the war in Ukraine.
The Senegalese leader’s plea, which was heard by the Kremlin, led to the lifting of the freeze on grain and fertiliser exports bound for Africa and other parts of the world.
Four months later, Umaro Sissoco Embalo of Bissau-Guinea is following in President Sall’s footsteps.
Africa received few shipments when the Russian embargo was loosened around the Black Sea, where Ukrainian cargo ships were detained.
Faced with this situation, the current Ecowas chairman reiterated Africa’s call for peace.
“The war between Russia and Ukraine, two sister nations, and the resulting blockage of exports, is holding back progress around the world,” noted Umaro Sissoco Embalo during his two-hour meeting with Vladimir Putin.
Despite the stalemate in the conflict, the Bissauguinean president said the warring sides can still engage in dialogue to reach a peace agreement.
“This is very important,” he said.
In Mali, which faces a jihadist threat, the services of Wagner, the Russian private military company, have been enlisted.
In this regard, the current chair of Ecowas discussed “security problems in West Africa” with Mr. Putin.
The Russian leader while being “very pleased to see” Umaro Sissoco Embalo said his country will join Guinea-Bissau to 50 years of diplomatic relations with Bissau next year.
“Throughout the history of Guinea-Bissau, its struggle for independence and the formation of the state, Russia has always maintained very good and warm relations with it. And today, we continue to develop them,” the Russian president said.
As the chair of Ecowas in a region of 400 million people living in its member countries and a global GDP of 550 billion dollars, Putin hoped for the development of trade between his country and West African states and but the African continent as a whole.
In this sense, after the Russia-Africa Summit held in Sochi, in 2019 “we plan to organise a similar summit next July in our northern capital, St. Petersburg,” said the Russian leader.
In the Kremlin, Umaro Sissoco Embalo also pleaded for the development and even the adaptation of the “historic” relations between Guinea-Bissau and Russia.
In the fight against maritime piracy, he requested Putin’s help.
“We would like to have big ships for our navy. Maybe Russia would be able to provide us with such ships? And then we will see how we can pay for frigates. Maybe we can even order a helicopter,” said the Bissauguinean president.
His Russian counterpart, for whom the navy is “an essential area of cooperation,” promised to study these requests and the modalities.
ID/lb/as/APA