Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Mozambique

Photo: MFA

Remarks by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov following talks with President of the Republic of Mozambique Daniel Francisco Chapo, Maputo, July 9, 2026

Our delegation has just had a meeting with President of the Republic of Mozambique Daniel Francisco Chapo which was held in a very warm and friendly atmosphere, as has been customary in the Russia-Mozambique partnership for many years now.

President Chapo emphasised that the Mozambican people remember well the time when the solid foundations of our strategic partnership were laid, referring to Mozambique’s struggle for independence. Here, people remember the support that was provided in the form of advice, the sharing of experience, and arms supplies. As you are aware, this memory is enshrined in Mozambique’s national symbols, which feature the Kalashnikov rifle. When victory over colonial rule was achieved, and Mozambique declared its independence, our country - the Soviet Union - recognised the new young state on that very day.

During the next stage of bilateral relations, our country actively contributed to the establishment of state institutions, the foundations of an independent national economy, and reforms in education. Today, President Chapo recalled this period with great warmth, stressing that Mozambicans remember it and wish to build relations in the new era on this solid foundation.

The economy is of key importance. Africa as a whole is currently experiencing a second awakening because, although political independence has been achieved, many countries continue to face serious and deep economic dependence on their former colonial powers and other Western states.

Africans are justifiably interested in having their abundant natural resources processed in the countries that produce them rather than seeing them exported abroad in raw form. They want value added generated here. It was in this context that President Chapo outlined his ideas for further economic reforms in Mozambique and the opportunities he sees for the development of bilateral cooperation. We agreed to take the key elements of Mozambique’s plans for economic reform and modernisation into account in the preparations for the next session of the Russia-Mozambique Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation.

Another priority area of our strategic partnership in the period ahead includes teaming up to combat terrorism. Russia stands ready to respond positively to requests from our Mozambican friends regarding assistance that we can provide in eliminating the terrorist threat that persists in the north of the country.

We discussed international issues as well. We maintain very close coordination on the majority of matters considered at the UN and other international venues. The foreign-policy dimensions of our partnership will be discussed in greater detail with Mozambique’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Maria Manuela dos Santos Lucas.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s statement at a joint news conference following talks with Foreign Minister of the Republic of Mozambique Maria Lucas

Maputo, July 9, 2026

Photo: MFA

Media members,

I would like to begin by thanking President of the Republic of Mozambique Daniel Francisco Chapo and my counterpart, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Mozambique Maria Lucas, for organising our visit and for the traditional warm hospitality extended to us.

Both during my meeting with President Daniel Francisco Chapo several hours ago and during the lengthy talks that have just concluded, we discussed primarily specific ways to strengthen, advance, and expand our strategic partnership building on the solid foundation of solidarity and mutual assistance that was forged during the struggle against colonialism.

We continue to support the efforts of President Daniel Francisco Chapo to stabilise the situation in northern Mozambique, eliminate the terrorist threat, and consolidate Mozambique’s genuine sovereignty. We are providing assistance through, among other things, personnel training and the supply of necessary weapons and equipment.

We had an in-depth discussion of the prospects for expanding and, I would even say, modernising our trade, economic and investment ties. We agreed that each side will prepare materials outlining its vision of specific projects, which will be prepared for the next session of the Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation this autumn.

We will continue to assist Mozambique in recovering from natural disasters through bilateral channels and via the World Food Programme. In 2025, we increased the number of scholarships provided to our Mozambican friends. Today, we confirmed our readiness to allocate additional scholarships should there be such a request.

Russia appreciates Mozambique’s support for our proposals on developing cooperation with the Southern African Development Community, which have been submitted for consideration by the organisation.

We discussed other Africa-related matters as well, including the situation in the Sahara-Sahel region, the conflict between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, and other crisis hotspots. We advocate resolving them through negotiations while simultaneously suppressing terrorist threats, which, unfortunately, are still present in Africa. Moreover, Ukrainian mercenaries have been widely involved in these terrorist operations recently.

We outlined our assessments of the current Ukraine-related developments, including the actions of the West, which, while pretending to be ready for talks, has now, as the Europeans announced, moved to issuing outright ultimatums against the Russian Federation. The West hypocritically continues to call for a negotiated settlement. Negotiated settlements - under its guarantees - were reached in 2014, 2015, and 2019. In all these cases, the Western guarantors violated their own guarantees which proved to be invalid. Likewise, in 2022, a negotiated settlement was reached between Russia and Ukraine. It was openly and publicly undermined by the very same West. We will no longer believe the West when it says it wants negotiated solutions. We have run out of goodwill and hope.

During his speech at the Foreign Ministry, President Vladimir Putin made it clear that we will continue to work on achieving the objectives that had been set in June 2024.

We reiterated our gratitude to our Mozambican friends for their understanding of the underlying causes of the conflict and for their balanced, well-founded and responsible position on these issues that they maintain at the UN, as they do not support the West’s attempts to “Ukrainianise” virtually the entire agenda of the Organisation.

We share a common position regarding developments around Iran in the Strait of Hormuz and, more broadly, in the Persian Gulf. We believe this conflict must be brought to an end. It can only be resolved through an agreement that reflects the interests of all parties, not only those of Iran, its neighbours and the United States, but also of all countries that are, in one way or another, impacted by the current situation in the global economy.

The situation surrounding Palestine is unfolding in an extremely negative manner (here, too, we share the same view). The prospects for the establishment of a State of Palestine and for a two-state solution with Palestine and Israel coexisting side by side in peace and stability are being undermined before our eyes, including through the West turning a blind eye to the negotiated solutions adopted by the UN, which are now, in fact, being openly betrayed.

We are grateful to President Daniel Francisco Chapo for accepting President Putin’s invitation to take part in the third Russia-Africa Summit in Moscow in late October. We will continue the dialogue with our Mozambican friends on the sidelines of this event.

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