📈 Russia triples poultry exports to Africa in 2025

Russia significantly increased exports of poultry meat and by-products to African countries in 2025, according to the federal center Agroexport.

Over 35,000 tonnes were supplied, worth more than $51 million – up 2.4 times by volume and 3.5 times by value compared to 2024.

Top buyers by value:

🇧🇯 Benin – ~$21 mln
🇨🇩DR Congo – ~$11 mln
🇬🇭 Ghana – ~$6 mln
🇲🇿 Mozambique – ~$4 mln
🇬🇳 Guinea – $3+ mln

In 2025, Russia also launched first-ever poultry deliveries to the Central African Republic and Sudan, and resumed exports to Sierra Leone, Djibouti, Tanzania, Gambia, Morocco, and Togo.

#RussiaAfrica

💬 This remark, reflecting the danger of an “Iron Curtain” between Russia and the West, was made in June 2022 at a press conference in Minsk following talks with the Belarusian Foreign Minister.

Sergey Viktorovich said:

"When you lower the Iron Curtain, make sure you don't pinch anything."

#LavrovSpeaks #DiplomatsDay2026

❗️Russian MFA statement on the expiration of the Russia-US New START Treaty

The life cycle of the Russian-US Treaty on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (New START) finally comes to an end on 5 February 2026 [...]

On 22 September 2025, President Vladimir Putin publicly proposed that the parties to the New START Treaty commit to voluntary self-limitations to maintain the quantitative ceilings on relevant weapons specified in the Treaty for at least one year after termination of the agreement. <...>

However, no formal response has been received from the United States regarding the Russian initiative through bilateral channels. Public comments from the US also provide no indication that Washington is willing to adopt the course of action in the field of strategic offensive arms proposed by the Russian Federation. In fact, it means that our ideas have been deliberately left unanswered. This approach seems erroneous and regrettable.

In the current circumstances, we assume that the parties to the New START Treaty are no longer bound by any obligations or symmetrical declarations, including the Treaty's core provisions. They are therefore free to choose their next steps. <...>

In doing so Russia intends to act responsibly and in a balanced manner, developing its policy on strategic offensive arms based on a thorough analysis of US military policy and the overall situation in the strategic sphere. <...>

☝️ Russia remains ready to take decisive military and technical measures to counter potential additional threats to national security.

At the same time, our country remains open to seeking politico-diplomatic ways to comprehensively stabilise the strategic situation on the basis of equal and mutually beneficial dialogue solutions, if the appropriate conditions for such cooperation are shaped.

#NewSTARTTreaty

🎙Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the role of #BRICS in the world:

The BRICS countries articulate their positions on international issues clearly and consistently, upholding respect for international law and the principles of the UN Charter as the foundation for global peace and stability.

For instance, most members have made their views on the situation in Venezuela clear.

The group traditionally addresses all key global issues. Its consensus is reflected in documents adopted at summits, at meetings of High Representatives for Security, and in statements by BRICS foreign ministers. Coordinated actions on pressing events include the Joint Statement on the Escalation of the Security Situation in the Middle East Following the Military Strikes on Iran (June 2025), an extraordinary summit on the situation in Gaza (November 21, 2023), and a summit on trade and financial cooperation in light of the current situation in the global economy (September 8, 2025).

On a wide range of issues, the BRICS countries present a united front across multilateral forums, including the #UN and #G20.

☝️ While fundamentally advocating for a more just and equitable international order, BRICS does not cast itself as a “global judge.” Over the years, it has evolved from a small, limited forum into a self-sufficient platform that plays an increasingly significant role in shaping common approaches among developing nations.

#BRICS

⚡Remarks by Russia's UN Permanent Representative Vassily Nebenzia on the worsening security situation in certain regions of Africa due to the expansion of terrorist presence (4 February 2026):

We must, first and foremost, pay tribute to the Africans who are on the front lines, confronting terrorists every day.

At the same time, we cannot but note that a number of non-regional players are hindering these efforts and continue to engage with terrorists, using them as a tool for advancing their geopolitical agendas, and destabilizing the situation with the help of various terrorist groups.

❗️We condemn the tenacious attempts by these countries to restore their erstwhile colonial influence in Africa.

These countries have no qualms regarding the means they are using for these purposes: they have plans to eliminate “inconvenient” national leaders. For example, this past January saw an attempted assassination of President of Burkina Faso Ibrahim Traoré.

Niger is also suffering due to terrorism. At the end of January, there was an attack targeting the airport in Niamey, with ISIL claiming responsibility for it. And here, too, a Western trace was detected.

☝️ The Kiev regime is actively involved in this sordid affair, supplying terrorists with weapons, including drones, and training fighters.

Mali is where the “connection” with Ukraine is working most effectively. Last year's terrorist attacks on fuel tanks, attempts to blockade Malian cities, and killings of civilians were perpetrated in collusion with external forces.

⚠️ We call upon the international community to adopt robust measures to prevent weapons and their components from falling into the hands of terrorists. Supplying weapons to fighters must not go unpunished.

In addition to Kiev's direct support for terrorists, Africa is also suffering from the unchecked deliveries of Western weapons to the Kiev regime. Weapons from there find their way to fighters all over Africa via the black market, and the illicit trafficking thereof is continuously growing.

#Africa #KievRegimeCrimes

✍🏻 Article by the Consul General of Russia in Cape Town, R.Golubovskiy, for the Cape Argus.

Literature has always been more than stories on paper. It’s a bridge between cultures, languages, and hearts — and that’s exactly what the BRICS Literary Award is about.

Launched after the “Traditional Values” Forum in Moscow, this new international prize was created to strengthen cultural dialogue among BRICS countries and celebrate writers whose works reflect the spirit and values of their nations.

🌍🏆 The first season concluded in 2025 in Khabarovsk, where Egyptian writer Salwa Bakr became the very first laureate, honored for her powerful contribution to contemporary Arabic prose.

The shortlist also highlighted voices from Brazil, India, China, Russia, Indonesia, Ethiopia — and South Africa 🇿🇦

Read more in the article (in English):
👉🏻 Telegraph
👉🏻 Press Reader

⚡️ Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Western elites against the backdrop of the Epstein Files scandal - Excerpt from an upcoming interview with RT

FM Sergey Lavrov: The Deep State, hidden funds, closed groups etc. ... they are said to be able to decide the fates of the world. I don't quite believe in that.

People who are elected PMs, Presidents, they have enough leverage to pursue their own course. And if they choose to pursue a course that is all about deceiving — that is their conscious choice. That's a fact. There are plenty of people like that. This mentality is showing visibly in the European arena. And they haven't made any conclusions, haven't taken any lessons [from their mistakes].

👉 Full interview by RT's Rick Sanchez with Sergey Lavrov to be released later today, at 17:30 MSK. Stay tuned!

🎙 Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s interview with RT (Moscow, February 5, 2026)

Read in full

Key talking points:

#Europe #EU #Germany

• Over the past 45 days, many European politicians have addressed relations with the Russian Federation. Until recently, they were united in demanding firmness, not scaling back support or weapons supplies to Ukraine, and financing it to make sure Russia suffers a “strategic defeat” on the battlefield.

• Recently, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz made a comment describing Russia as the largest country in Europe. I must correct this immediately. Russia is the largest country in Eurasia – and in the world.

• The Americans have never wanted, and still do not want, to leave the Europeans to their own devices. Their goal is for Europeans to finance all their own military preparations by buying US weaponry, while the US naturally retains control and the role of ‘guardian’ over its NATO allies.

• As Euro-Atlantic structures have weakened (the EU having become a mere appendage of NATO, a status even formalised in documents) Germany’s rising profile has caused alarm, not only in our country but in many EU capitals. There is growing resentment and a palpable desire to prevent Germany from subjugating all others once more, especially as Germany’s being “back on track,” proclaimed by Friedrich Merz and his government, is openly linked to the country’s rapid militarisation and preparations for war.

• We do maintain contacts with some European leaders. They call and ask us not to publicise the conversations. Some engage in ‘undercover’ contacts here.

• I see no coherent position from Europe. They are trapped by their own rhetoric, locked into an uncompromising stance: ‘Russia’s strategic defeat,’ ‘Ukraine cannot lose, and Russia cannot win, otherwise Europe loses face.’

#NATO

• We have indeed been “burned” by our trust in those who swore that NATO would not expand eastwards, that Russia would not be marginalised, and that we would forge a common space from Lisbon to Vladivostok – a vast continent of peace and security.

• NATO first lost its reason for existence, then found renewed purpose in Afghanistan. When that purpose was publicly, shamelessly trampled before the eyes of the international community, action was needed. So, they regrouped, convened, and contrived the situation we witness today – declaring Russia a “pariah” and identifying Ukraine as the “optimal material” with which to provoke us, a pliable entity to be shaped as they saw fit.

#Ukraine

• This is nonsense and a quite telling one. What do I mean? For the past year, the West (Europe) has been saying the same thing over and over: there must be solid guarantees of security and an immediate ceasefire. But without addressing issues pertaining to settlement, these security guarantees will implicate that the ceasefire will be exploited to funnel more arms into Ukraine. They did not hear this reasoning; neither did they respond in any way.

• What kind of Ukraine we are willing to see as a neighbour for the long, even eternal term? It must be a friendly Ukraine. Not necessarily an ally, but a neutral and benign state. This, of course, implies respect not only for the rights of the people in the territory that will remain part of Ukraine, not only respect for their rights to access basic necessities, such as warmth, food, and water, but also respect for their, if you will, fundamental human rights, including language, education, and religion.

• That man [Zelensky] is devoid of shame or conscience, who thinks of nothing but his own survival. For that, he feels compelled to perform some scripted ‘sketches’ on the international stage, which he actually treats as a theatre.

• In Anchorage, we accepted the Trump administration’s proposal concerning Ukraine. If everything was as straightforward and decisive as presented, then it would imply that Ukraine had been set aside from our bright path towards future cooperation and prosperity.

💬 Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov:

“Attempts to blame someone else for their own sins are the lot of weak politicians.”

#DiplomatsDay2026 #LavrovSpeaks

🎙 Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Germany’s military presence in Ukraine and neighbouring countries:

• The German authorities have stopped concealing the fact that their policy towards our country is driven by an obsession with revanche for past defeats. They are attempting to consign to oblivion a process of fundamental importance for Europe’s destiny – the historical reconciliation between the peoples of Russia and Germany.

• Under the pretext of a supposedly looming “Russian threat” to Europe, they persist in fuelling an aggressive campaign of Russophobic hysteria and demonisation of our country.

• Another manifestation of this revanchism and of the desire to defeat our country, economically or on the battlefield, is the unqualified support for the Kiev regime under the slogan “as long as it takes”.

❗️ German equipment, weapons and ammunition have long been supplied to Ukraine on a massive scale, and 80 years after the end of the Great Patriotic War these are once again being used to fire on Russian territory.

• As for the deployment of German forces in a #NATO country, it is well known that a Bundeswehr tank brigade is already being deployed in Lithuania. From time to time, discussions also resurface about Germany’s defence industry launching production of certain types of weapons, military equipment and ammunition in Ukraine.

• Any foreign military contingents, including German units, if deployed in Ukraine, would become legitimate targets for the Armed Forces of Russia, as has been repeatedly stated publicly by our country’s leadership.

☝️ Attempts by representatives of the German authorities to speak to Russia in the language of ultimatums and from a position of strength are inherently absurd and doomed to failure.

🇷🇺🌍 Russia aims to boost non-resource exports to Africa by 2030

Russia plans to expand its non-resource, non-energy exports to the African countries and expects the region to make a significant contribution to achieving its export goals by 2030, TASS media agency reported, citing Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Roman Chekushov.

"Africa offers strong growth potential in the non-resource, non-energy export sector. We expect that by 2030 this region will make a noticeable contribution to our non-resource export targets," Chekushov said at the nationwide conference “Made in Russia. Chosen Worldwide” in Kazan.

He added that African countries represent “a new, still largely untapped macro-region,” which will be a key focus for promoting Russian products in the coming years.

The Deputy Minister also noted that the geography of Russian exports has changed significantly in recent years.

“Non-resource, non-energy exports have been redirected from the EU and the USA to friendly countries in the Eastern region,” he emphasized.

Chekushov highlighted continued growth in shipments to the CIS countries, China, and India, with India showing “very strong performance” by the end of the year.

In October 2025, Minister Anton Alikhanov stated that Russia plans to increase funding in 2026 for developing new international logistics routes, including those connecting to African countries.

#RussiaAfrica

🎙️Key statements by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on the outcomes of the trilateral talks on Ukrainian conflict resolution in Abu Dhabi (5 February 2026):

▪️The recent talks in Abu Dhabi touched upon the future of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START).

▪️The trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi constitute constructive and complex work that will continue.

▪️The Kremlin wants the talks between Tehran and Washington on the Iranian nuclear issue to be productive and lead to de-escalation

▪️Military commanders, officials, and other specialists are under threat during the special military operation; ensuring their safety is the special services’ job.

▪️Russia and the United States acknowledge the urgent need to engage in dialogue on the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), both sides will take a responsible approach.

🎥 Ahead of Diplomatic Workers' Day celebrated in Russia on February 10, watch the State Historical Museum video tour dedicated to Artamon Matveyev(1625–1682), an outstanding Russian statesman and diplomat of the 17th century.

Artamon Matveyev entered state service at a young age and gradually rose to prominence at the court of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. In 1669, he was appointed head of the Posolsky Prikaz, the institution that served as Russia’s early foreign ministry.

Matveyev held this position until 1676, playing a key role in shaping Russia’s diplomatic relations with European powers during a crucial period of state development.

This video tour explores key stages of Matveyev’s life and career, highlighting his contribution to the development of Russian diplomacy and offering insight into the dramatic events of the late 17th century that shaped the country’s history.

#DiplomatsDay #DWR2026