Uganda was one of 17 African states that abstained in a March vote on a UN resolution condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has said he saw no reason to criticize Moscow over the invasion of Ukraine, extolling Russian-African friendship during the visit of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Speaking alongside Lavrov, who is on a four-nation African tour seeking support for Moscow at a time of confrontation with Western powers, Museveni praised Russia as a partner in the fight against colonialism for a century.
“If Russia is wrong, then we will tell them,” Museveni said, citing his involvement in student demonstrations against the Soviet Union’s 1968 crushing of the Prague Spring.
“But when they haven’t made a mistake, we can’t be against them,” he said.
Many African countries, which import Russian grain and energy while buying grain from Ukraine and benefiting from Western aid flows and trade ties, have avoided taking sides in the Ukraine war.
Uganda was one of 17 African nations that abstained in a March vote on a United Nations resolution condemning the Russian invasion, which was supported by 141 countries out of 193.
Lavrov praised what he described as “the responsible and balanced position taken by Uganda and other African states”, accusing the West of displaying a colonial mentality in demanding that Africa adopt an anti-Russian stance.
This coincided with Museveni’s statements, in which he drew heavily on historical events to explain his preference to remain on good terms with both Russia and the West.
“Whenever problems arise and some people want us to take positions against Russia, we say, ‘But you, these people have been with us for the last 100 years, how can we automatically be against them?'” Museveni said.
“We have even forgiven our former enemies, the colonialists, those who have colonized us, those who had actually taken slaves from here and who did bad things. We have forgiven them and we are working on them,” he said.
Returning to the Cold War, Museveni, who has been in power for 36 years, said that when asked if he was pro-West or pro-East, he dismissed the question as an idiot.
“I am in favor of myself. And I deal with other people according to how they relate to my own interest,” he said.
Lavrov has already visited Egypt and the Republic of Congo. From Uganda, he will head to Ethiopia, which has long been a staunch ally of the West but has recently clashed with the United States over its handling of a conflict in its northern Tigray region.