Russia’s foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday that Russia intends to work with Africa to destroy the United States dollar. Zakharova’s direct, provocative challenge to Washington and its dollar dominance, asserting that the U.S. is using the dollar for “global hegemony” and as “a means of realizing its aggression.”

De-dollarization chatter is not new. It has long been in the air, particularly in the lead-up to BRICS nations gathering in South Africa in August, with the question high on the agenda.

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African leaders have already begun arriving in Russia for what is the second Russia-Africa summit since 2019, set to kick off Thursday and go through Friday. Proposals for ending the Ukraine conflict will be discussed, but also alternatives in the wake of the collapse of the United Nations-backed Black Sea Initiative grain deal.

Official delegations from #African countries are arriving to 🇷🇺 St.Petersburg to participate in the Second #Russia–#Africa Summit.#RussiaAfrica #Summit2023 pic.twitter.com/39O8yT0g7t

— Russia in South Africa 🇷🇺 (@EmbassyofRussia) July 26, 2023

Russian President Vladimir Putin is also hosting individual meetings with key heads of state, such as the Ethiopian and Egyptian leaders. There’s appears to a degree of disappointment given the low attendance this year, clearly a result of the Ukraine crisis and the West’s pressure campaign and sanctions against Moscow, according to a report by ZeroHedge.

The Associated Press reported that “the number of heads of states attending shrank from 43 then to 17 now because of what the Kremlin described as a crude Western pressure to discourage African nations from attending it.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said that “unconcealed brazen interference by the U.S., France, and other states through their diplomatic missions in African countries, and attempts to put pressure on the leadership of these countries in order to prevent their active participation in the forum.”

“It’s absolutely outrageous, but it will in no way prevent the success of the summit,” Peskov told reporters.

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