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U.S. senators evaluating President Biden’s nominees for two influential military jobs said Thursday that Russia’s rising influence in volatile parts of Africa is threatening American interests, and urged both to prioritize the burgeoning policy dilemma if confirmed .
Members of the Senate Armed Services Committee appealed to Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Michael E. Langley, Biden’s nominee to lead the US Africa Command, for details of how he would strive to counter Russia’s activities on the continent. He reiterated that they were problematic and would become a priority until the full Senate approved his promotion.
Langley appeared before the committee along with Army Lt. Gen. Bryan Fenton, Biden’s choice to lead US Special Operations Command.
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Lawmakers expressed acute concern about Moscow’s use of the Wagner Group mercenaries to raise Russia’s profile on the continent and highlighted the group’s activities in Mali, where successive military coups have destabilized the region and, they argued, given Russia a foothold in West Africa.
They also feared that Russia’s growing influence on the continent could edge the United States out of Africa’s rich resource-extraction sector, and focused particularly on rare-earth minerals like cobalt, a crucial component of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles and cellphones many other products.
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Lawmakers also expressed concern about Russia’s recent success in rallying support from African leaders against Western sanctions. Last month, after meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Senegalese President Macky Sall, leader of the African Union, released a public appeal calling on Western nations to lift punitive measures on food, particularly grain.
The West has accused Russia of creating a global food crisis by invading Ukraine and preventing its grain exports – some of the world’s largest – from leaving Ukrainian ports. Moscow was also blamed stealing Ukrainian grain and sell it worldwide as if it were made in Russia.
“There is still a lot of work to do to tell the right story,” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said during Thursday’s hearing.
“It pains me to see African leaders accepting disinformation about what is causing this famine in Africa,” he added, saying it was imperative that US leaders make more efforts to “win the narrative war.” .
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Kaine and other senators appealed to Langley, who is likely to be confirmed in the coming weeks, to view his next role not just as a military position, but one that involves diplomacy. Langley agreed with this interpretation of the job and the growing threat to US interests of Russian expansion in Africa.
“The Wagner group has bad intentions,” Langley said, noting that the organization has helped expand Russia’s already significant portfolio of arms sales in Africa.
Through partnerships with opposition movements, including military coup leaders in Mali and governments elsewhere in Africa, the Wagner Group has helped expand Russia’s presence there beyond its already sizeable arms sales, which account for nearly half of the continent’s military imports.
“It just creates fragility, especially in fragile countries,” Langley said, promising that if it’s confirmed, “we’ll re-engage, we’ll reset” and show “we’re still the partner of choice.”