Moscow's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced Mr Lavrov's arrival in Nairobi on Monday morning, without giving further details on the visit.

The Russian embassy in Nairobi in a tweet said this would be "a very fruitful week for Russia-Kenya bilateral relations".

Kenya's President William Ruto has skipped Nigeria's Bola Tinubu inauguration slated for Monday.

Mr Lavrov's visit comes days after Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba made an African tour last week.