US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in South Africa to begin a three-country African tour aimed at countering Russia’s efforts to increase its influence.
Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s Foreign Minister, visited four African countries last month in an attempt to gain support for the Ukrainian war.
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South Africa has remained neutral in the Ukraine conflict, declining to join Western condemnations of Moscow.
Following his visit to Pretoria, Mr Blinken will travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda.
Tensions between the two countries have risen in recent months as the conflict in eastern Congo has deteriorated.
