On Wednesday, the 4th Eurasian Women's Forum opened in St. Petersburg.
Dedicated to women's participation in global cooperation, the event also includes the first BRICS Women's Forum.
The forum is attended by participants from Cameroon, Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Ghana, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, and South Africa.
Loide Kasingo, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Namibia, has expressed her disappointment and concern over the European Parliament's decision to allow Ukraine to strike deep into Russian territory with Western-made missiles.
She believes this decision undermines calls for peace and harmony.
"They are not serious. Those people who allow Ukraine to attack Russia, they are not really serious," she stated during an interview with Sputnik Africa on the sidelines of the IV Eurasian Women's Forum in St. Petersburg.
"You cannot allow and assist a certain country to attack another country and not expect another country to defend itself."
While acknowledging the complexities of the situation, Kasingo agreed with Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who stated that external interference from the United States has contributed to terrorism in Africa, while Western nations are similarly impacting Russia.
"We find that there are interferences to a certain extent, not necessarily in Namibia […] So, I think she is just right to say what she said," the Namibian lawmaker commented.
She stressed the importance of peace, stating that "peace will be better, because at the end of the day, the victims are women and children."
However, Kasingo also acknowledged that "there must be reasons" for Russia's military operation in Ukraine, emphasizing that "Russia is being attacked from the other side."
Kasingo also praised the Eurasian Women's Forum's commitment to fostering dialogue and cooperation between women from different regions, including Africa and Russia.
"We really appreciate the Eurasian Forum, the leadership to extend their hand to us in Africa so that at the end of the day we can learn from them, and they can also learn a little bit from us, what we are doing good," she stated.
