A last-minute stopover, Thursday, at the end of his African tour, in the only country on the continent to have voted against the resolution condemning Russia for its invasion of Ukraine last year before the General Assembly of the UN. It was therefore a visit to conquered territory.
Eritrea’s opaque regime did not skimp on symbols during Sergei Lavrov’s visit. The plane carrying the powerful head of Russian diplomacy landed in Massawa, a city on the Red Sea which interests Russia for its port and airport. A cooperation agreement of this former Ottoman counter with Sevastopol – in occupied Crimea, still a symbol – was also signed in January.
Welcomed by the staff and the closest collaborators of President Issayas Afewerki, Sergei Lavrov then laid flowers at the foot of a statue of Pushkin erected in Asmara, many being those who accredit the idea that the Russian poet had a Eritrean grandfather. Then he went to meet the Head of State, at a military base in the mountains.
In short, everything has been done to celebrate the close proximity of Moscow and Asmara, of which ” the balanced and principled position on Ukraine was welcomed. Among the subjects of discussion, there was question of military cooperation, in particular with regard to the ” defense capabilities from Eritrea, that is, surface-to-air missiles. And Sergei Lavrov handed a letter of invitation from Vladimir Putin to his Eritrean counterpart, whom he hopes will come to the Russia-Africa summit in Saint-Petersburg at the end of July.