The ambassador accused the West of pressure on Africa to condemn Russia

Western countries are putting pressure on African states, demanding condemnation of Russia's actions in Ukraine, Russian Ambassador to Angola Vladimir Tararov said in an interview with RIA Novosti.

According to him, in some cases it comes to blackmail and threats.

“They just threaten, blackmail. This blackmail, I emphasize once again, is immoral. <...> Please note that when they voted for the anti-Russian resolution at the General Assembly (UN), almost all African countries voted neutrally, that is, abstained,” Tararov said.

This decision of the African countries means that in fact they did not support the initiative, but were unable to openly vote "no" due to "extraordinary" pressure, the diplomat said.

On March 2, the UN adopted a resolution demanding that RUSSIA withdraw its troops from the territory of Ukraine. Belarus, North Korea, Eritrea, Russia and Syria voted against it, 35 states (including Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Equatorial Guinea, Central African Republic, Congo, Angola, Algeria and others) abstained from voting. 141 countries supported the document.

Later, on April 7, the General Assembly of the organization suspended Russia's membership in the Human Rights Council, 93 states voted for this decision. African countries such as Algeria, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Mali, Gabon and Zimbabwe spoke out against. Of the African countries, South Africa and Egypt did not vote.