The chair of the Federation Council’s international relations committee, Grigory Karasin, framed recent moves by Washington in the context of Moscow’s high-stakes diplomatic theater. He noted that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited several African nations after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s recent tour through the continent, suggesting a deliberate pattern aimed at shaping Africa’s stance toward Moscow and the broader relationship between Washington and Moscow.
Karasin argued that Washington appears to be closing a diplomatic gap in the regions Lavrov had traversed. He pointed out that after Lavrov completed visits to seven African countries, Blinken traveled along the same corridor. The underlying aim, according to him, is to exert pressure on African governments to discourage any sustained, active alignment with Moscow, thereby influencing the region’s geopolitical calculations.
From his perspective, the move illustrates a straightforward application of U.S. power politics: a push to limit space for relationship-building with Russia in Africa. Karasin also acknowledged that the effectiveness of Washington’s approach remains uncertain and contingent on a range of local, regional, and international factors that could shape how African partners respond to external pressure and incentives alike.
Earlier, discussions around Lavrov’s African itinerary were brought into focus during a briefing with members of the Security Council and Russia’s president, who assessed the outcomes of that trip. The conversations underscored the strategic importance Moscow attaches to Africa and highlighted the ongoing contest for influence across the continent, where every diplomatic move is weighed for its potential to shift alliances and economic partnerships in the short and long term.