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With the United States and Europe increasingly looking inward, the arms trade is also part of Russia’s efforts to insert itself in places where there are vacuums of Western power or antagonistic relations between African countries and the West. This likely explains Russia’s efforts to broker arms deals and military cooperation arrangements with Egypt, long considered a close U.S. ally. Russia also has used the threat of violent extremism emanating from Libya to help sell—and certainly justify sales of—weapons to Egypt and other countries in the region. It has had some success in recent sales to Algeria, a country where France has long had a privileged position as an economic and security partner.
Beyond the arms trade, Russia aspires to become more influential in Africa. It takes part in U.N. peacekeeping operations, putting troops on the ground in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Liberia, Sudan and South Sudan. Russia also uses debt relief as a tool for influence in Africa, often offering debt relief in return for arms sales or natural resource exploration rights for Russian companies. Algeria, Benin, Ethiopia, Guinea, Libya, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia, among others, have all been recipients of Russian debt relief over the past decade. In some cases, Russian debt relief is a way that Moscow can enhance its influence in Africa despite its relatively marginal importance as a trade partner with the continent. Some Russian debt relief has been conducted under the auspices of various U.N. sustainable development programs. Russia also has sought to invest in the region’s oil and gas sectors and mining, although its efforts to do so pale in comparison to China’s. Western sanctions and Russia’s economic slowdown appear to have further weakened Russia’s competitiveness in these sectors.
http://carnegieendowment.org/2018/0...to-beef-up-its-arms-sales-to-africa-pub-75237
Beyond the arms trade, Russia aspires to become more influential in Africa. It takes part in U.N. peacekeeping operations, putting troops on the ground in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Liberia, Sudan and South Sudan. Russia also uses debt relief as a tool for influence in Africa, often offering debt relief in return for arms sales or natural resource exploration rights for Russian companies. Algeria, Benin, Ethiopia, Guinea, Libya, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia, among others, have all been recipients of Russian debt relief over the past decade. In some cases, Russian debt relief is a way that Moscow can enhance its influence in Africa despite its relatively marginal importance as a trade partner with the continent. Some Russian debt relief has been conducted under the auspices of various U.N. sustainable development programs. Russia also has sought to invest in the region’s oil and gas sectors and mining, although its efforts to do so pale in comparison to China’s. Western sanctions and Russia’s economic slowdown appear to have further weakened Russia’s competitiveness in these sectors.
http://carnegieendowment.org/2018/0...to-beef-up-its-arms-sales-to-africa-pub-75237
