by Victor Vasiliev
[REGNUM] On February 26, Russian President Vladimir Putin received Guinea-Bissau leader Oumarou Sisoka Embalo in the Kremlin, with whom he held lengthy talks. This is far from the first high-level contact in recent times. The small country on the coast of West Africa with a population of two million has become unexpectedly important for Russia.
It is enough to remember that it was the President of Guinea-Bissau who visited Russia on May 9 last year and became one of the few leaders of friendly states who saw the Victory Parade on Red Square.
Even earlier, during his first meeting with Embalo, the Russian leader devoted three hours to an informal conversation. This took place on October 25, 2022, when Russia was under maximum external pressure and attempts at complete international isolation.
Embalo came to Moscow representing the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS, 15 countries), being at that time the chairman of the organization, and the topic of the Ukrainian crisis became the main one in the negotiations.
"You see that today the situation that exists in connection with the war between two fraternal states, Russia and Ukraine, and also in relation to grain and fertilizers, is blocking the development of the entire world..., " the President of Guinea-Bissau said in the Kremlin. "We think and hope that we can find a way to establish a dialogue between the two fraternal states."
Embalo then went on an official visit to Ukraine and, as was written at the time, conveyed “Putin’s message” to Zelensky, although the official Kremlin emphasized that no special message was conveyed in this way.
Having already returned home, the head of Guinea admitted that “thanks to this journey to the heart of warring Europe, Guinea-Bissau ended up on the world map.”
BISSAU MATTERS
In fact, Embalo was one of the first to offer Putin mediation.
And in June 2023, the African Peace Initiative for the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine took place, which consisted of 10 points and included a visit by a delegation of 7 African leaders led by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to Kiev and St. Petersburg.
This was the first serious voice from the “third world” about the need to achieve peace in Ukraine – not a voice of condemnation towards Moscow, but a voice of objective concern and an attempt to understand the situation.
The role of the Black Continent in resolving the Ukrainian crisis is clearly demonstrated by the fact that Vladimir Putin demonstrated the initialed draft agreement with Ukraine, prepared in March 2022 in Istanbul, precisely at a meeting with leaders and representatives of the peacekeeping mission of African countries on June 17, 2023.
The powerful anti-colonialist message contained in the historic speech of the Russian president on the occasion of the accession of the DPR, LPR, Zaporizhzhya and Kherson regions to Russia is especially relevant for Africa. The problem of resolving territorial disputes and the desire for genuine independence have now become an urgent need of the “humiliated and insulted” countries, among which Russia claims leadership.
As for Embalo, he not only visited Red Square on May 9, 2024, but also established relationships with political figures such as Rustam Minnikhanov and Ramzan Kadyrov, finding time for corresponding visits to Kazan and Grozny.
And already in January of this year, Putin had a telephone conversation with the leader of Guinea-Bissau, the circumstances of which once again emphasized the importance that the Russian leader attaches to relations with this African state.
Some experts were surprised that he even unexpectedly interrupted a meeting of the Supervisory Board of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives for the sake of an unplanned telephone conversation with Embalo, while other leaders often have to wait for Putin.
NEGOTIATIONS IN THE KREMLIN
As for the current negotiations, which took place in the Grand Kremlin Palace, they began with the traditional ceremony of meeting the leaders of the two states, continued with a conversation in a narrow format, then negotiations in an expanded format, and finally ended with a separate working lunch for the two presidents.
During the narrow-format meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, presidential aide Yuri Ushakov, who participated in the recent negotiations in Riyadh, and Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Pankin took part from the Russian side. Entrepreneur Oleg Deripaska also took part in the expanded format.
The Guinea-Bissau government has signed four cooperation agreements with Russia. Their details are not yet known, but conclusions can be drawn based on the parameters of the emerging cooperation.
Russia is interested in joint work on rare earth metals with Guinea-Bissau, this was stated shortly before the meeting by the press secretary of the Russian president Dmitry Peskov. Vladimir Putin noted in the introductory, public part of the negotiations that " many companies from Russia are showing interest in working on the Guinea-Bissau market."
In this context, Deripaska's presence at the negotiations is understandable. It is known that the company "RUSAL", of which he is the founder, has concluded a contract with the republic, within the framework of which Russian specialists are to begin exploration of bauxite in the Boe region. According to the government of the West African country, the reserves there exceed 113 million tons. A permanent representative office of "RUSAL" has recently opened in Bissau, and the project to build a port in the city of Buba and a railway that will lead to it will soon begin.
Other areas of cooperation could include projects in the fields of fishing, agriculture and especially tourism.
However, in addition to standard mutually beneficial projects, the leaders’ attention was also focused on current political issues – not only regional, but also international.
"PROVINCE" IN WEST AFRICA
The meeting of the Russian and Bisayan delegations is taking place against the backdrop of fairly intensive negotiations with the American side, when the dialogue between the two countries has only just resumed. At the same time, the Russian leader finds time for high-level negotiations with minor players in the form of a country that is small even by African standards.
If last time Embalo headed to Kiev after his visit to Moscow, this time he flew to Azerbaijan, a country whose relations with Russia have been complicated in recent months. Who knows, maybe he brought some message from the Kremlin to his meeting with President Ilham Aliyev, as was said during his Kiev visit.
How can this phenomenon be explained?
We are witnessing Putin's special attention and favor to the leader of a little-known country on the coast of West Africa. The motives for such attention are actually understandable, even if not obvious to an outside observer: this is Embalo's role and merits in resolving the Ukrainian crisis.
The idea that Guinea-Bissau could be turned into a model "province" of Russia in West Africa is finding support in Russia. This can be considered the first and main informal result of the negotiations in the Kremlin.
Guinea-Bissau, with its unique climate, dozens of islands with pleasant beaches, and vibrant culture, could become a very attractive tourist destination for Russians.
Finally, we must not forget the close ties that have been established since the Soviet era. Many educated people in Guinea have a good command of Russian. They call themselves “Russians of West Africa,” referring to their openness, cheerfulness, honesty, and ability to drink. Perhaps the level of dialogue between the countries is so high thanks to this mental closeness.
And here we return to the Ukrainian context.
In a recent interview with Pavel Zarubin, a journalist from the Rossiya TV channel, the Russian president specifically emphasized: “ We are grateful to all our partners who strive to achieve peace,” meaning that not only European countries, but also other countries (undoubtedly including African ones) can play their role in solving the most difficult task currently facing Russia.