Russia's Lavrov courts Africa in quest for more non-Western friends

FILE PHOTO: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends a news conference with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry in Cairo, Egypt, July 24, 2022. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh/File Photo

KAMPALA (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited Congo Republic on Monday, the second leg of an African tour aimed at strengthening Moscow's ties with a continent that has refused to join Western condemnation and sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

African countries, which have a tangled legacy of ties with both the West and the former Soviet Union, have largely avoided taking sides over the war in Ukraine. Many import Russian grain and, increasingly, energy too but they also buy Ukrainian grain and benefit from Western aid flows and trade ties.