Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday promised Moscow’s “total support” for Africa, at a conference with African officials in Sochi in southwest Russia.

The conference comes after two Russia-Africa summits in 2019 and 2023.

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends the ministerial conference of the Russia-Africa partnership forum at Sirius University in Sochi on November 10, 2024. The Country says it wants to show that Western sanctions aimed at isolating it over its Ukraine offensive have failed.

Russia was a major player in Africa in Soviet times and has been growing in influence on the continent in recent years, with the help of Russian mercenary groups and through large investments in the raw-materials sector.