Russia hosts African ministers to expand ties

SOCHI, Russia (AP) — Russia has opened the first ministerial conference of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum in the city of Sochi, seeking to deepen ties with African nations and dispel a notion that it’s isolated by Western sanctions. The conference is billed as building on last summer’s Russia-Africa summit, where Russian President Vladimir Putin courted leaders from Africa and offered to expand political and business ties. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova was quoted as saying by Russian state news agency RIA Novosti that the conference “dashed dirty hopes” for Russia’s isolation.