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Top Russian, Rwandan diplomats discuss reformation of UN Security Council, conflicts in Africa

Russia stands for reforming UN Security Council by including representatives on developing nations, says Russia's Lavrov

Elena Teslova  | 07.10.2021 - Update : 07.10.2021
Top Russian, Rwandan diplomats discuss reformation of UN Security Council, conflicts in Africa

MOSCOW

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday he discussed the reformation of the UN Security Council and settlement of the conflicts in Africa with his Rwandan counterpart Vincent Biruta at a meeting in Moscow.

Speaking at a news conference after the meeting, Lavrov said Russia stands for reforming the UN Security Council by expanding the representation of the developing nations from Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

“We exchanged assessments on the progress of talks on the reform of the UN Security Council. The Russian position remains unchanged. We are convinced that the entire content of the reform should be devoted to expanding the representation in the Security Council of countries representing the developing world, Africa, Asia, and Latin America,” the minister said.

Lavrov added that particular attention during the meeting was paid to overcoming conflicts and crises in Africa, in the first turn in the regions of the African Great Lakes, Sahara, and the Sahel, as well as in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Central African Republic, Mozambique, Somalia, Libya, and Ethiopia.

“To overcome all these crises, an approach is needed that is comprehensive and involves all parties to the relevant conflicts in settlement negotiations and relies on the central role of Africans themselves,” he said.

Russia supports the idea of the necessity to find an African solution to African problems and sees the role of the global society in providing African countries “moral, material, technical and peacekeeping support,” he noted.

Asked about a possible date of the new Russia-Africa summit, Lavrov said it can be scheduled in the near future during a contact he plans to hold with the foreign ministers of the countries that preside in the African Union this and next years -- Egypt, DRC, and South Africa.

“As for the specific date and venue of the second Russia-Africa summit, these issues are being discussed at the level of foreign ministers and the troika of the African Union will take place in the near future. This issue will occupy one of the important places there,” Lavrov said.

For his part, Biruta thanked Russia for providing Rwanda humanitarian assistance in fighting the coronavirus pandemic and confirmed Rwanda’s readiness to work side by side with Russia to achieve peace on the African continent.

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