President
Vladimir Putin stepped up Russia's push for influence in Africa days before he hosts a summit with African leaders, saying on Monday that
Moscow could offer help without strings attached unlike what he cast as the exploitative West.
The
Kremlin has said it expects 47 African leaders to converge on the Black Sea city of Sochi for the Oct. 23-24 event, Moscow's first Russia-Africa summit and part of an ambitious push for influence and business in Africa.
For Moscow, the prize is greater political influence on a continent with 54
United Nations member states, sprawling mineral wealth, and potentially lucrative markets for Russian-manufactured weapons.