Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has met Eritrea’s President Isaias Afwerki in Asmara during the Russian diplomat’s second tour of Africa to boost international support for Moscow’s war effort in Ukraine.

The visit comes after Lavrov visited officials in South Africa, one of his country’s most important allies on the continent, where on Monday he pushed back at criticisms over joint naval drills between Russia, China and South Africa scheduled for next month.

The discussion centred on the dynamics of the war in Ukraine and the enhancement of bilateral ties in energy, mining, information technology, education and health sectors, said Eritrea’s Information Minister Yemane Meskel late on Thursday.

Russia has found allies in several African countries which have taken a more neutral stance on Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

At the United Nations General Assembly’s first resolution in March last year condemning Russian actions, African countries formed a significant proportion of those abstaining from voting. Eritrea was one of the only five countries to vote against it along with Syria, North Korea, China and Belarus.

Before visiting Eritrea and South Africa, Lavrov was in Angola and Eswatini.