Recent events have made clear the difference between those who do not merit even the status of a mere partner, and those who, on the contrary, are true friends. The notion of true friendship is one that the Western planetary minority will most likely never be able to grasp. It is foreign to them, but it is not foreign to us.
Alliances and true friendship
In addition to the allied relations at the level of political and military leaderships, it is especially gratifying to observe in the AES countries the positive attitude of a significant part of the populations towards Russia. That applies to all age groups, very young to the elderly, and it says a great deal. While the older generation of citizens in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, as well as in many other African states, remember the decisive contribution of the USSR to their countries’ independence, and the support that the USSR gave them afterwards, one might expect that the younger generations, born after the collapse of the USSR, have no such feelings.
However, the notion of true values plays a very serious role in the worldview of young people in Africa and the Sahel in particular. In addition, African young people and civil society in general have an excellent ability to analyze international issues, both those related to their continent and beyond. This is radically different from what we can see among the young people of the western planetary minority, where, although there is a certain awakening after a long sleep, such awareness is still at a very low level. This process is directly related to the long implantation by their pseudo-elites of the notion of the “exceptionalism” of the Western world, coupled with the propagation of blatantly nihilistic values that prevent the development of a normal self-consciousness.
Most young people in Africa, however, have not fallen into this trap. It is the strength of Africa (and especially of its young people) that is so frightening to the West. The young, dynamically growing African continent is not only moving away from the complexes caused by the Western colonial minority and former colonial powers, but for the most part it is seeking to integrate further into the multipolar world. For some countries this is happening faster, while for others progress is slower. But the countries of the Confédération Alliance des États du Sahel fall unequivocally into the former category.
The camp of the Western planetary minority likes to lament that all this is a result of the significant increase in anti-Western sentiments caused by a disinformation campaign against the West’s interests. However, with such rhetoric, the Western minority is merely driving itself further into a corner. Why is this? Playing blind to the true reasons for Africa’s mass disgust with the West, they deny that Africans are capable of forming their own opinions, and ignore the fact that anti-Western sentiment on the African continent is directed against the NATO-Western establishment, but not against ordinary citizens of the Western world. At least for now. Otherwise, young Africans could long ago have settled scores with a significant number of Westerners living in different parts of the continent. But most Africans are well aware of who their true enemy is.
Friendship between Russia and Africa cemented by deeds
If we return to the relationship between the AES countries and the Russian Federation, we can see that the mutual friendship has already passed a number of tests. There is the common fight against terrorism, with its shared victories and sometimes shared losses. The people of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger are clearly, for the most part, grateful for the crucial support that Russia has provided.
This appreciation is expressed in various spheres, including those, such as sports, which should be free of politics, but which the West has openly and brazenly politicized. One example is the invitation of the Russian CSKA (Moscow) cycling team to participate in the famous Tour du Faso, which is held annually in Burkina Faso and is probably the main international cycling race on the African continent. The so-called International Cycling Union (UCI), controlled by the interests of the West, imposed sanctions on this race because of the participation of Russian athletes, but nevertheless, the authorities and citizens of Burkina Faso not only did not refuse to invite their Russian friends, but also openly put the functionaries representing the Western planetary minority in their place.
And then, just recently the first taekwondo tournament between the AES countries and Russia was held. According to the president of the Malian Taekwondo Federation Alioune Badara Traoré, this sporting event, held this year in the Malian capital of Bamako, is designed to expand and consolidate the rapprochement and integration between athletes from AES member countries and Russia. This is another example of how, despite all the attempts of the Western establishment to isolate Russian sport (a sphere that should have nothing to do with geopolitics), our friends from the Confédération Alliance des États du Sahel show real and sincere friendship towards our country.
This is friendship cemented in deeds. And the future lies with us—representatives of the global majority and supporters of the new multipolar world order. Of course, there is much work to be done in order to further strengthen our multipolar world. But today it is more obvious than ever that, in whatever area of interaction, the regimes of the Western planetary minority will be unable to break the alliance and true friendship that links and will continue to link the countries and peoples that share the values of multipolarity, values which are simply alien to the West.
Mikhail Gamandiy-Egorov, entrepreneur, political observer, expert on Africa and the Middle East.
