MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The second Russia–Africa Summit will take place in July 2023 in Saint Petersburg, Russia's "northern capital". The event is a follow-up to the first meeting of the kind, which was held in Sochi in 2019.
There is pressure from the West on African countries that want to take part in the Russia–Africa summit, and the African states are less than delighted, Oleg Ozerov, the Russian Foreign Ministry's ambassador-at-large and the head of the secretariat of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum, said on Thursday.
"Of course, this is all in the public sphere, it's easy to read on the Internet according to the statements made by Western partners, including those who come to African countries. I can't say that African states are delighted with this. Sheer blackmail," Ozerov said.
He added that Moscow proceeds from the premise that African states are sovereign countries that have independence, sovereignty and their own political will, and are quite capable of making decisions that meet their national interests.
The second Russia–Africa Summit will take place in July 2023 in Saint Petersburg, Russia's "northern capital". The event is a follow-up to the first meeting of the kind, which was held in Sochi in 2019. The main topic of this year's summit will be economic cooperation, with a focus on spheres such as energy and mining, agriculture, manufacturing, transport, and infrastructure development, according to official statements.
The Russian Foreign Ministry also announced that the agenda of the 2023 summit will be more extensive than that of the first one, and a full section on humanitarian cooperation will be organized.
As Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted, Moscow is inviting all African countries to the Russia-Africa summit, in contrast to the United States, which excluded several African countries from the US–Africa Leaders' Summit.
The prices of some life-saving medicines have soared to levels that are unaffordable for ordinary people in Venezuela as the United States has ramped up military presence in the Caribbean off Venezuela's coast, alongside escalating sanctions, blockades and military threats against the oil-rich South American nation since late August.
https://www.presstv.ir/default/Embeded/761400
At a northeastern suburb in the capital city Caracas, locals can still purchase most of the commonly used medicines at a major supermarket, where some antibiotics have been sold out, and some first-aid medicines and supplies have become too costly for ordinary residents.
"I'm here mainly to buy antibiotics. I have problems with my lungs. But I can't get all I want, such as vancomycin," said a resident named Alfonso.
"Recent tensions have affected the supplies and prices of drugs. The prices of cancer drugs, insulin drugs and albumin are very high, and most patients here cannot afford them," said Giovanna Gonzalez a ...
Russian President Vladimir Putin says Moscow is prepared to use military force to achieve the goals of its special military operation if Ukraine continues to delay peace talks.
During an inspection of a Russian armed forces command post on Saturday, Putin stressed that Moscow will not allow Kiev’s obstruction to prevent progress.
“If the Kiev authorities do not want to resolve the matter peacefully, we will accomplish all the tasks before us in the course of the special military operation by military means,” he said.
The Russian leader noted that the Ukrainian authorities are not moving toward a peaceful resolution, adding, “We see that even today, unfortunately, the leaders of the Kiev regime are in no hurry to resolve this conflict peacefully. I spoke about this a year ago in a speech at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”
Putin also received reports from Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov and commanders of Russia’s “Centre” and “East” military groups.
Meanwhile, ...
