Newly elected Kenyan President William Ruto hinted in a BBC interview that he would explore all available options to rein in high fuel prices including buying fuel from Russia.
In an interview with the BBC recently, he said: “All options are available to us as a country. East Africa would be a good option, but Kenya is what we are going to be focusing on,” he said.
The president continued by saying that in order to create a seamless financial framework and to better the lives for East Africans, Kenya will cooperate closely with other nations in the region.
"I am now going to move on to the agenda of making sure that we have government-to-government relationships that will progressively now begin the journey to bring the prices of fuel down," President Ruto said.
Kenya scrapped a subsidy on petrol a day after the new President said subsidies were unsustainable, in a move that could add to upward pressure on inflation, according to Reuters.
Some of the key challenges the new president faces include bringing down the high cost of fuel and food in East Africa's most dominant economy, Reuters said.
Ruto said in a speech after being sworn in that subsidies were costly and prone to abuse, including causing artificial shortages of the very products being subsidised.
The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority set new, higher fuel prices for petrol, diesel and kerosene, which is commonly used for cooking by many households.
Several countries have refused to engage with Moscow since the invasion of Ukraine but Ruto said he's considering all available options.
President Ruto’s speech at the UN General Assembly