At a critical time in the African continent, amid conflicts and conflicts, a Russian-African summit convened in Moscow, under the slogan “For Peace, Security and Development.” To discuss deepening partnerships and reducing tension in this resource-rich region, in light of escalating disputes, especially between Ethiopia, Egypt and Eritrea.
The summit, which was held in 2019 in Sochi and 2023 in St. Petersburg, and whose third edition will begin on Wednesday and Thursday, experts in African affairs who spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat believe that it will focus on development and economic partnerships, in exchange for moves in the path of reducing tensions and mediation, and the possibility of arranging a tripartite meeting between the leaders of Egypt, Ethiopia and Eritrea if there is a response from Addis Ababa.
On Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov confirmed that “the summit will contribute to strengthening cooperation between Moscow and Africa,” while Russian Presidential Assistant Yuri Ushakov explained on Monday that 48 African countries have confirmed their participation, including 22 countries at the level of heads of state.
On the sidelines of the summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to hold meetings with the presidents of Egypt, Congo, Burundi, Namibia, Kenya, Sudan, Madagascar and Zimbabwe, in addition to the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, according to what the “Russia Network” reported on Monday, which reported the participation of the President of Eritrea.
The volume of trade exchange between Russia and African countries increased from $17.9 billion to $27.1 billion in 2025, an increase of nearly a third compared to the period following the previous summit.
African affairs expert Ramadan Qarni believes that “the summit’s agenda focuses primarily on purely economic and development dimensions.” Despite the summit being held every three years and the desire of both parties to consolidate partnership frameworks, the Russian role in settling major African conflicts is still limited and often focuses on the security and military aspects.
He pointed out that the Russian orientation towards Africa has witnessed a significant shift since 2020 within the framework of the premise of international competition through repositioning in strategic regions such as East Africa, the Horn of Africa and the Sahel, benefiting from the vacuum left by the French exit, especially through security and military partnerships with the countries of the Sahel Confederation (Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger).
Hussein Al-Behairi, an African affairs expert at the National Center for Middle East Studies, believes that the third Russian-African summit “can contribute to strengthening strategic cooperation and partnership relations between Russia and African countries and building economic partnerships,” calling for “the importance of Moscow pumping significant investments to help African countries achieve economic development, in accordance with the principle of everyone winning, and not just achieving Russian interests.”
The summit was preceded by Russian talk about the possibility of reducing tension between Ethiopia and Eritrea, whose relations have witnessed an unprecedented escalation since the beginning of this October after “the severing of diplomatic relations and the exchange of accusations of interference in the internal affairs of their countries.”
Russia announced its readiness to facilitate the resolution of the conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea by providing a platform for negotiations on the sidelines of the Russian-African summit in Moscow, if both parties express interest in doing so, according to what Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Alimov said on October 16.
On Tuesday, a phone call took place between Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdel Ati and his Eritrean counterpart, Osman Saleh, in which he stressed Egypt’s full support for Eritrea’s sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity.
The two ministers stressed that “the security and governance of the Red Sea represents the exclusive responsibility of the countries bordering it,” according to a statement by the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday.
In this regard, Qarni points to the pragmatism of Russian policy in maintaining balanced relations with Cairo, Addis Ababa, and Asmara. “Egypt is considered a major logistical and nuclear entry point through the Dabaa project and the Suez Canal, while it has military and coordination relations with Ethiopia and Eritrea.”
He continued: “But perhaps the most that can be expected in this context is that Putin will organize a tripartite meeting between Egypt and Ethiopia, or between Ethiopia and Eritrea at the latest, but the matter remains largely dependent on the political will of the Ethiopian party, whether with regard to the Renaissance Dam or the Tigray War and the borders with Eritrea.”
But according to Al-Behairi’s estimates, “Russia can play a mediating role to contain the escalating political tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea on the one hand, and between Ethiopia and Egypt on the other hand.”
He explains: “The chances of the success of this mediation are enhanced by the acceptance that the Russian role enjoys among the aforementioned countries, and its connection with them to a group of strategic interests at all levels. But this depends on the acceptance of the parties, especially Ethiopia, which refuses to respond to any external initiatives to resolve and settle its external crises, such as its rejection of American mediation between it and Egypt in the water file, when Ethiopia refused to sign the agreement drafted by the United States in 2020.
The announcement by the Turkish Ambassador in Cairo, Salih Mutlu Şen, of the arrival of the Commander of the Turkish Land Forces, Lieutenant General Metin Tawakkol, to Egypt on an official visit, on Monday, came to confirm that military relations between Cairo and Ankara are on the path to greater coordination in light of escalating regional tensions.
Mutlu Shen said, in a blog post on the social networking site “Facebook”, on Tuesday: “Lieutenant General Abdel Muti Abdel Aziz Allam, representative of the Egyptian Armed Forces, hosted Lieutenant General Metin Tawakkol, Commander of the Turkish Land Forces, for a dinner; This is within the framework of the latter’s visit to Cairo to hold a series of meetings with his counterparts in the Egyptian army with the aim of strengthening bilateral military relations.
The Egyptian military spokesman did not immediately announce the visit or the meetings held by the Turkish Land Forces Commander.
Experts who spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat believe that the visit of the Turkish military official comes as an extension of the mutual military visits carried out by officials from Egypt and Turkey during the past months, and is another indication of the growing military cooperation between the two countries. It also has a regional dimension in light of the coordination between Egypt and Turkey within the framework of the “international quartet mechanism” and in light of the efforts to reduce escalation in the region and secure the Gulf region.
The Turkish military visit coincides with diplomatic and security movements taking place in the region, in light of efforts to enhance coordination between a number of countries on issues of regional security and stability. It also comes after numerous military meetings between officials of the two countries, the most prominent of which was the meeting of the chiefs of staff of the two countries in Cairo last June, to discuss ways to enhance military cooperation and exchange experiences.
The expert specializing in military and strategic affairs, Major General Ayman Abdel Mohsen, said that Egyptian-Turkish relations are generally good in light of the consensus on dealing with a number of regional files and the common interests of both countries, which leads to more military coordination represented by joint training and cooperation in the fields of manufacturing and the intelligence field.
He added in a statement to Asharq Al-Awsat that the visit aims to strengthen military cooperation, and comes as a continuation of official visits that take place alternately between the two countries, explaining that there is nothing preventing close military cooperation between Cairo and Ankara.
As for the expert on Turkish affairs, Mahmoud Alloush, he said that the growing military cooperation between Egypt and Turkey will benefit the two countries and the security of the region, pointing out that this rapprochement has a regional dimension and is considered a pillar of regional stability.
He added in a statement to Asharq Al-Awsat, “There is an intersection of visions between Egypt and Turkey with regard to supporting Saudi Arabia and rejecting any threat to its sovereignty and security,” noting that the Kingdom’s security is of utmost importance to Türkiye and Egypt, and any threat to its security is a threat to regional security and a threat to Egyptian and Turkish interests.
Over the past two years, Egypt and Turkey have intensified their joint military exercises, conducting four naval and air exercises and special forces maneuvers. Last July, the two countries carried out the “Golden Eagle” maneuver, with the participation of Egyptian parachute and Thunderbolt forces, along with Turkish special forces.
Earlier in the same month, Egypt and Turkey, along with Azerbaijan, conducted the “Anatolian Eagle 2026” joint air exercise, which lasted for several days at a Turkish air base, with the support of a NATO early warning aircraft. Last June, the two armies carried out a large-scale air maneuver that lasted several days and included a number of Egyptian air bases.
However, despite this escalating military coordination, Mateen Tawakkol’s visit this time comes at a time when the eastern Mediterranean region is witnessing renewed disputes over “maritime borders,” following the Libyan House of Representatives’ ratification of the maritime memorandum of understanding signed between Turkey and the former Fayez al-Sarraj government in 2019.
Egypt opposes this memorandum, as the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs described it as “absolutely invalid and without legal effect.” However, hours after this objection, Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler announced “his country’s readiness to sign an agreement with Egypt regarding the demarcation of maritime borders and jurisdiction areas in the eastern Mediterranean.”
The proposal grants Cairo an additional area of about 15,000 square kilometers within its maritime jurisdiction, compared to any agreement it might conclude with Greece. This is what experts who spoke in previous statements to Asharq Al-Awsat considered an attempt to “alleviate potential disputes and tensions regarding maritime borders and avoid escalation with Cairo.”
The expert in regional affairs at the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, Dr. Bashir Abdel Fattah, believes that “the growing military cooperation between the two countries will not be affected by disputes over the maritime borders,” noting that “relations between the two countries have made important strides, which helps to deal with the Eastern Mediterranean issue wisely and rationally.”
He added in a statement to Asharq Al-Awsat that the visit of the Turkish military official comes in the context of close military cooperation between the two countries after numerous air and sea maneuvers, and with the consolidation of the partnership in the fields of military industries in addition to intelligence cooperation.
The agencies concerned with irregular migration and the security authorities in Libya confronted attempts to sail covertly across the Mediterranean Sea, in parallel with the intensification of air deportations of dozens of migrants towards their countries, in coordination with the International Organization for Migration, amid increasing human rights calls to address the urgent humanitarian conditions of detainees in the east of the country.
The security authorities affiliated with the Anti-Illegal Immigration Service in the city of Sirte (450 kilometers east of Tripoli) aborted a new attempt to smuggle a group of irregular immigrants towards European shores. Field patrols in the “20” area east of the city were able to monitor and destroy supplies and equipment prepared by the smugglers for sailing, including the boat designated for transporting them across the Mediterranean, while the security services continued to comb the coastal strip to protect it and prevent criminal networks from exploiting it.
In the process of organizing return and deportation, the competent agencies in Tripoli, in coordination with the International Organization for Migration and diplomatic missions, completed the air return procedures for 151 migrants belonging to 5 nationalities through Mitiga International Airport.
Data from the East Tripoli Shelter Center reported that the deportation batch included 74 immigrants from Mali, 36 from Bangladesh, 32 from Pakistan, 8 from Burkina Faso, and one immigrant from Algeria.
In conjunction with this, the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria conducted a field visit to the center to complete interviews and document its nationals in preparation for their deportation.
The center added that its president, Major General Nour al-Din al-Quraytli, received on Tuesday the Consul General of the Yemeni Embassy in Libya, Abdul Karim al-Shassani. This is to deliver and complete the procedures for Yemeni immigrants who are residents of the center, in preparation for their deportation to their country in accordance with the established procedures.
As a continuation of the deportation operations of immigrants, the shelter center revealed that this morning, 33 illegal immigrants of Pakistani nationality were deported, who were among the center’s residents, and their deportation process was carried out in cooperation with the International Organization for Migration through Mitiga International Airport.
On the other hand, urgent human rights and humanitarian demands directed at the Libyan authorities in Benghazi are escalating as quickly as they resolved the file of 13 Algerian citizens, including an elderly woman, who have been detained in the Ganfouda shelter center for more than a year against the backdrop of an irregular migration attempt.
Human rights activists, including Libyan Tariq Lamloum, warned of “the deteriorating health condition of detainees and the spread of skin diseases under harsh shelter conditions,” calling on diplomatic missions and concerned authorities to expedite the issuance of travel documents and facilitate safe return.
