Russia has praised Africa’s resilience in the collective fight against what it called “information segregation”.

Maria Zakharova, spokesperson and director of the information and press department of the Russian foreign affairs ministry, offered the commendation during a high-level meeting under the business programme of the Russia-Africa Media Forum on Tuesday in Moscow.

She stressed the need to collectively counter the attempts of individual countries and forces to prevent the free exchange of information between Russia and Africa.

According to her, some states do not want Russia and Africa to interact directly and want to limit access to information for the entire region.

“The media of Russia and African countries want to interact with each other, but there are other countries that do not want it. They believe that there can be no direct exchange of information. This must be done collectively, by joint efforts, and not alone,” she said.

The spokesperson thanked Africa, urging the continent to work toward closer cooperation with Russia. She described such support as the collective principle of justice, equality and inadmissibility of blackmail.

The high-level forum focused on media sovereignty, countering disinformation, and expanding information cooperation between Russia and African nations.

The forum involved over 200 media executives, journalists, and government officials from 46 African countries and Russia.

(NAN)