Russians prepare for African energy, mining push

Russian energy and mining companies are preparing for the visit to Africa early next month of President Vladimir Putin. But the black backdrop of the visit, the first in half a century by a Russian head of state, is the increasingly aggressive reaction of the Bush administration in Washington to the combination of arms and business which the Russians are offering those whom the US considers to belong to its camp.

Behind the scenes then of the Russian initiatives toward South Africa, Angola and Namibia — the three countries currently on Putin’s agenda for September 5-10 — there is a US campaign of threats, inducements, and even sanctions.
MineWeb