Moscow, November 2 – President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea proposed his country as the venue for the next “Russia-Africa” summit during a meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Mbasogo requested his friend, President Vladimir Putin, to consider allowing Equatorial Guinea to host the upcoming summit if it could be held on the African continent. He highlighted that Equatorial Guinea has the necessary infrastructure to host various conferences and forums. Additionally, Mbasogo reminded that his country has not signed the International Criminal Court treaty, emphasizing their rejection of foreign interference and their commitment to maintaining a free and secure space.
The meeting between the presidents of Russia and Equatorial Guinea took place in Moscow on Thursday. Putin acknowledged the positive prospects for cooperation between the two countries, particularly in the defense sector. The second Russia-Africa summit and economic forum took place on July 27-28 in St. Petersburg, where participants signed 161 agreements and adopted five key documents. Moreover, significant memorandums between Moscow and leading African integration unions were signed in the presence of Putin.
In March, the Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court, whose jurisdiction Moscow does not recognize, issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin and children’s ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova. The ICC accuses the Russian authorities of deporting children from conflict zones to safe areas. The Kremlin’s representative, Dmitry Peskov, deemed the issue of arresting the President unacceptable and dismissed any decisions made by the ICC as null and void. It is worth noting that the majority of the world’s population resides in countries that do not recognize the jurisdiction of the ICC, including Russia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, China, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the United States.
