PMC Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin called Russia’s policy in Africa ineffective and also complained that Russian authorities are hampering PMC activities on the continent. Businessman comment published telegram channel “Prigozhin’s cap”.
“In these (African) countries where I am quite well immersed, I find that absolutely nothing is done. Our bureaucracy drags everything into the longest processes. We do not take any active measures in these countries. Help them, even the feasible that we can provide, we provide so ‘lip service’ that it is better not to receive such help than to receive with such whims,” the PMC official said.
As Prigozhin thinks, “the Americans, the French and other players on the African continent behave several times, tens, hundreds of times more active than us.” “Everyone (in Africa) asks a question: ‘Where are you Russians gone?'” the PMC chief said.
“This situation must be changed. Whether the SVO succeeds (“special military operation”) or fails, in any case, Russia must be present on the international scene, including through diplomatic and forceful means. And that’s it, what I see today is lost, it just slips through my fingers,” he added.
In addition, according to Prigozhin, Wagner PMC units located in Africa face “colossal difficulties” in interacting with Russian authorities, including the Ministry of Defense – training is “limited to resources working on the African continent in the possible”. ”
“We can’t have airplanes, we can’t have flights. We cannot achieve interaction with various structures, from the Ministry of Defense and others, in order to further develop our work in Africa. Spokes in the wheel everywhere, every step,” he said.
The fact that Wagner PMC operates in African countries has been repeatedly reported by investigative journalists and Western media. According to the report of the All Eyes On Wagner project, the Wagner group has a presence in Mali, where the country’s authorities have been fighting radical Islamists for 10 years and are looking for gold mines. In addition, PMC “Wagner” is active in the Central African Republic: according to the press, in this country the formation is also engaged in gold mining.
In mid-March, Bloomberg wrote that Russia, the United States and China had entered into a rivalry for influence in Africa. As the agency notes, the African continent is of interest to global players as a region, especially rich in minerals. At the end of January, the Financial Times also noted that the Republic of South Africa (SAR) had become less inclined to criticize Moscow and withdrew its request for the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine after the visit of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in the country. According to sinologist Alexander Gabuev, African countries can use the confrontation between Russia and the West to their advantage, expecting one of the parties to offer them more favorable terms of cooperation.
