Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov speaks during his annual press conference in Moscow, capital of Russia. File Photo:Xinhua

 
Russia is currently developing a new edition in the country's foreign policy as western nations impose fresh sanctions against Moscow that result in severed political and business ties.

The new foreign policy guidelines being developed by the Kremlin should include a provision for enhancing ties between Russia and African countries regardless of the actions that western countries take, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has stated, responding to Sputnik's question during his joint press conference with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni.

The minister likewise confirmed that the West's current policy, which mostly boils down to attempts at isolating Moscow and hitting it with sanctions, prompted a greater emphasis on Africa in the yet-to-be-released foreign policy guidelines.

"We have our principle, our long-term relations, which do not depend on the current global situation and so, apparently, our work in the sphere of ties with African countries will expand. But given the current situation and the current activities undertaken by the West, objectively the role of the African continent will grow in our work," Lavrov said.

The Russian foreign minister added that apart from the ever-increasing importance of the African line of the Ministry's work, the western line of work effectively "cancels itself out".

Lavrov stressed that in addition to boosting cooperation with the African continent in the Russian foreign policy guidelines, Moscow is also preparing for the second Russia-Africa summit, after the success of the first one organized in 2019 in Sochi, Russia. The second summit is set to take place in 2023 and preparations have already begun, the minister said, adding that participant countries' working groups are already discussing parameters of future meaningful cooperation agreements.