Tanzania President Samia Suluhu Hassan has kicked off her three-day state visit to Russia to meet with President Vladimir Putin. The diplomatic move comes amid severe strain on Tanzania’s relations with the West.
In response to the violence, the United States is reviewing its relationship with Tanzania and recently sanctioned a senior police official linked to the torture of two prominent activists.
Western diplomats and human rights groups have accused her administration of killing hundred’s of people during October’s election unrest, alongside a wave of pre-election abductions and murders targeting political critics.
While Western nations looked with skepticism, Vladimir Putin was among the first to congratulate Samia Suluhu on her victory. Since then, the relationship between Russia and Tanzania has steadily warmed.
A joint business council was formed in January as Air Tanzania recently announced direct flights between Dar es Salaam and Moscow. Be that as it may, Samia Suluhu has fiercely defended her political crackdown, labelling protesters as “disrespectful children” who should be “beaten with canes”.
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Marking the first state visit by a Tanzanian President to Russia since Julius Nyerere’s 1969 trip, President Suluhu arrived in Moscow with a business delegation, aiming to forge new partnerships in trade, tourism, and minerals.
