Alexander Grushko, the deputy head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, stated in a Channel One interview that Western reactions to events unfolding in African provinces are largely shaped by the ongoing geopolitical contest with Russia and China. He suggested that Western capitals tend to view these developments through the lens of this broader rivalry rather than through the prism of domestic factors or the unique trajectories of individual African societies.
Grushko argued that the core concern for Western states is the strategic confrontation with Moscow and Beijing. He implied that policy responses and public narratives across Western capitals are driven more by this geopolitical struggle than by attempts to assess the internal political dynamics or reforms within African states themselves.
In Gabon, the military leadership that has previously seized power appointed Bris Oligi Nguemu as the head of the Gabonese Republican Guard, effectively taking on a transitional role in the state apparatus. This development came amid a broader sequence of events in which the armed forces asserted control over key institutions of government.
In the early hours of August 30, senior military officers addressed the nation through Gabon’s main television channel, announcing the annulment of the presidential election results and the dissolution of governmental institutions. The officers declared that they had assumed authority and that the country’s defense and armed forces were under this new direction. Reports subsequently emerged of gunfire in the capital city, Libreville, as the power shift unfolded.
The discussion of Africa and Russia’s shared interests has been a recurring theme in high-level statements from Moscow, highlighting a view that cooperation between the two regions can influence global strategic dynamics beyond immediate political developments in any single country.