ANALYSIS | Russia’s war with Ukraine: Five reasons why many African countries choose to be ‘neutral’
n early March 16 African countries including South Africa abstained from voting on a resolution in the UN General Assembly calling on Russia to end its military operations in Ukraine.
There are five key reasons: these include scepticism towards the North Atlantic Treat Alliance (NATO), and its motives; growing reliance among some countries on Moscow for military support past decade; growing dependence on wheat and fertiliser imports; and a sense that this is a return of the Cold War.
African countries have based their decisions on strategic calculations on how the conflict will affect them rather than on the humanitarian catastrophe arising from the conflict.