The lingering shadow of colonialism remains a major source of conflict in Africa, and former colonizers are now trying to deflect responsibility by blaming Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.

Speaking to Arab media on Monday, Lavrov accused Western powers of deliberately sowing division across the continent.

“Colonizers drew straight lines across Africa, dividing territories and splitting up the places where ethnic groups lived,” Lavrov explained. “I do not rule out that those who once drew the borders with a ruler are sometimes trying to provoke new escalations.” 

“The point is that there is an attempt today to make baseless accusations against Russia for anything and everything, even the gravest sins,” he noted. Lavrov rejected claims that the Russian military is destabilizing Africa through the operations of its African Corps – a unit of the Russian Defense Ministry.

“Our military does not take any action against the civilian population or civilian facilities. This is well known,” the minister emphasized.

He pointed specifically to Mali, where Russian forces are deployed at the formal invitation of the country’s government. The minister acknowledged recent concerns over rising tensions between Mali and neighboring Algeria, attributing them to the legacy of artificial borders imposed during the colonial era.

Lavrov stressed that Moscow is in contact with both Algeria and Mali and is prepared to act as a mediator. “Both sides are interested in us helping to ease these contradictions. We are ready to do so,” he said. 

The minister praised the African Union’s decision after decolonization to maintain existing borders to avoid a continent-wide unraveling. “It was a wise decision,” he said, noting that efforts to redraw borders risked opening a “Pandora’s box.”

Last month, Malian Prime Minister Abdoulaye Maiga accused Ukraine of supplying kamikaze drones to terrorist groups and called on Western countries to reconsider supplying weapons to Kiev, warning that such actions “risk contributing to the promotion of international terrorism.”