President John Dramani Mahama arrived in Moscow on Monday, travelling from Ethiopia, to lead Ghana’s delegation to the third Russia Africa Summit, hosted by President Vladimir Putin on October 28 and 29. He was received by Ghana’s ambassador to Russia, Dr Koma Steem Jehu-Appiah, embassy staff and Russian government officials. More than 30 African heads of state and government are expected at the summit, where peace diplomacy, security cooperation and economic partnership are the stated themes.
Mahama has said in advance what he intends to raise. Speaking at the Financial Times Africa Summit in London on October 21, he said: “I’m going to Russia for the Russia-Africa Summit and try to convince President Putin to have a ceasefire if I can.” He framed the appeal in Ghana’s non-aligned foreign policy, describing the country as friends to all and enemies to none, with cordial relations with the United States, the European Union, China and Russia alike.
A bilateral meeting with Putin on the summit’s margins has been confirmed by Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, who called the summit very important and said he hoped the talks would further deepen relations. Mahama is also expected to meet Russian businesses and state owned enterprises about investment in Ghana.
The summit is Moscow’s main instrument for holding its position in Africa while the Ukraine war continues, and most visiting leaders arrive asking for trade, grain, energy or security cooperation. A visiting president arriving with a public ceasefire appeal, made before he landed rather than after a private meeting, is the exception, and whether Putin receives it in the bilateral, and what the summit’s final documents say about Ukraine, are the two things to watch on October 28 and 29.