For the second time as America’s top diplomat, Antony Blinken is touring Africa. The US secretary of state was in South Africa earlier this week before heading to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda. His trip comes amid a flurry of charm offensives on the continent by Emmanuel Macron and, most recently, Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov.Blinken has taken a more subtle approach to this ongoing tug of war: his main message has been that any partnership ought to be equal. But cordial meetings with his South African counterpart, Naledi Pandor (pictured, on right, with Blinken), failed to mask differences over the war in Ukraine. Many African governments, including that of South Africa, have adopted a neutral stance and refused to publicly criticise Russia for its invasion.