The day before this announcement, Richard Randriamatto had, in an interview with the “world”, defended this decision in the name of the principle of territorial integrity of the States.
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Imbroglio at the top of Malagasy diplomacy. Foreign Minister Richard Randriamatto was dismissed Tuesday, October 18 for making the decision to vote in favor of the resolution condemning “the illegal annexions of Russia on Ukraine” on October 12 at the UN. Since the start of the war, Madagascar had, like other African countries, always chosen to refrain from voting resolutions against Russia, firmly camping on a position of neutrality.
The turnaround operated last week had immediately aroused questions in Antananarivo, and the hypothesis of a lonely initiative of the Minister – without the downstream of the Head of State, Andry Rajoelina – had been put forward by the ‘Express of Madagascar, one of the main daily newspapers in the country. The newspaper evoked a first instruction ordering to vote the abstention, sent to the Malagasy diplomats in office in New York, then, a few minutes before the ballot, the order to rally to the conviction of the Russian annexions. Questioned by RFI on Wednesday, Mr. Randriamatto explained that he “made this decision in [s] soul and conscience”, without having “endangered the interest of the nation by voting thus”.
In a telephone interview that we had the day before, the Minister, who was to conduct the delegation expected in Paris on November 2 and 3 for the resumption of discussions on the future of the Eparses Islands, had nevertheless denied all “bavering” And assured that the vote was the “choice of the government and the President of the Republic”. “We cannot ignore military climbing at work for several months, and we cannot remain without condemning the non-compliance by Russia of the principle of territorial integrity through the annexation of four regions of the east of Ukraine. This would not be coherent with our own diplomatic approach which, in a few days, will lead us to Paris to ask for the reintegration of the Eparses Islands under Malagasy sovereignty “, had justified Mr. Randriamatto. In its litigation with Paris, Madagascar asserts the United Nations resolution voted in 1979 clearly inviting France to “reintegrate” under Malagasy sovereignty this chain of land located in the Mozambique canal.
position of balancingist
However, this decision did not call into question, according to him, the neutrality of Madagascar: “We do not come out of our position of neutrality on the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which is for us a distant war From our direct and daily concerns. We are 10,000 kilometers from this region. Faced with the requests of both the European Union and Russia, it must be said in front: they are first of all the problems of the Europe, but not those of Africa or Madagascar. Even if, of course, we suffer the consequences with shortages that are increasingly difficult on wheat, fuel and other raw materials. “
Andry Rajoelina was put in front of the fait accompli, or had he endorsed this position of balancingist before being forced to disavow his minister under the pressure of Russia? Difficult to decide. One thing is certain: the flip-flop occurs in a context of rapprochement with Moscow, materialized among other things by the signing of a military cooperation agreement in the spring, the promise of cancellation of the bilateral debt and the renewed support of the Kremlin on The request for the restitution of the Eparses Islands. The Russian influence is obviously far from satisfying Western donors on which Madagascar depends and which Mr. Randriamatto had wanted to put into perspective during our interview: “I do not make Russia an obsession, nor its presence in Madagascar a threat. refutes the idea that Russia would have a particular influence in our country, and in particular on its political life. “Wrongly?