[News] ‘Ukraine is a sacrifice. This is not a war between Russia and Ukraine- Eritrea’s President Afwerki blasts NATO at Russia-Africa summit

The Eritrean president, Isaias Afwerki, has launched a blistering attack on Transatlantic military alliance, Nato at the Russia-Africa summit in St Petersburg, accusing the military alliance of stoking the conflict in Ukraine – a statement that will play favorably to Russian president Vladimir Putin’s ears.

In a meeting with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, Afwerki – who has ruled the east African country since the 1991 independence war – sat alongside several other African leaders on Friday, July 8, claimed in a speech that the conflict was reminiscent of a cold war proxy campaign.

 

Afwerki’s regime, which has been subject to US sanctions after Eritrean forces entered Ethiopia in support of the government’s military campaign, does not host Russian troops like Mali but it remains one of the most pro-Russian governments in Africa. It recognised the occupation of South Ossetia (Georgia) and Crimea in 2014.

He said;

[Nato] came up with this fantasy of containing Russia, any power – small, big – that challenged them; technologically, economically, socially, culturally. They have to contain everybody: it’s a defunct ideology.

“Thirty years ago, when they decided to contain Russia, they thought it was the major threat for them, China was not considered a threat at that time. Now they know, they missed the point … Ukraine is a sacrifice. It’s a price they have to pay. They will not pay it on their own, they will provide billions and billions, even trillions, to continue this war … They have to defeat Russia so they can hegemonise everything.

 

We need a new financial architecture globally, not controlled by the dollar or other currencies … We are being punished by their sanctions because we are not bowing to their conditionalities. We are not even a threat to them.” Afwerki added