President William Ruto has expressed interest in the willingness to purchase fuel from Russia. This comes at a time when several nations, notably the United States, avoiding engagement with Russia as a result of its invasion of Ukraine.
Kenya is facing a deepening economic crisis, and the price of food and fuel is soaring. Due to rising fuel prices, Ruto scrapped fuel subsidies saying they were prone to abuse and unsustainable.
President Ruto hinted that he would be exploring all possibilities to rein in the increasing fuel prices that have put a lot of pressure on Kenyans ever since the fuel subsidy was subsidized.
“All options are available to us as a country. East Africa will be a good option, but Kenya is what we are going to be focusing on”, Ruto told BBC.
“I’m now going to move on the agenda of making sure that we have government-to-government relationships that will begin the journey to bring the fuel prices down,” he added.
Other countries that have expressed interest in purchasing fuel from Russia include Uganda, and South Africa among others.
Ruto’s announcement to do business with Russia will put him at loggerheads with the west which has imposed crippling sanctions on Vladimir Putin’s government.
Even if Kenya can dodge US sanctions, doing business with Russia is still very difficult as the US and other nations cut it from the SWIFT system. The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Intercommunication (SWIFT) is a global financial artery that allows the smooth and rapid flow of money across borders.
