"We want to trade with Russia and we want to trade with all the countries of the world. We don't believe in being enemies of somebody's enemy. We want to make our own enemies, not fight other people's enemies. This is our doctrine,"The African leader noted that Russia, and the Soviet Union before it, have supported Uganda and the African anti-colonial movement for over 100 years and have never caused the country any harm.
Noting Uganda's rich natural resources, Museveni said he hoped his country could further increase cooperation with Russia in areas such as space science, nuclear energy, medicine, and food.
He also insisted that he didn't understand the calls for Africa to "automatically" take an anti-Russian stance, noting that Uganda can't turn against countries that have never caused it any harm, especially considering it has even forgiven its colonial oppressors of the past and now works with them as well.
The joint press conference was held amid Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's diplomatic tour of Africa and marked the first time a top Russian official has ever visited Uganda.