Domestic needs inform Ruto’s cautious neutrality on Ukraine

dnstate

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (L) shakes hands President William Ruto at State House Nairobi. Kenya. PHOTO | PCS | NMG

Debt, a weakening currency and high food prices are not problems unique to Kenya, but they are pushing Nairobi’s current open-door policy to the world’s greatest powers, potentially becoming a theatre of ongoing global rivalry.

This week, President William Ruto hosted Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, whose trip had been largely unannounced until a day before he arrived when rumours seeped in.