Russia is the only member of the G8 that is not a DAC member and thus was not bound to development commitments made at the 2005 Gleneagles Summit. It does not have a dedicated development agency that collects its development assistance data. In June 2009, Russia began discussions with the OECD to become a DAC member, which may happen by 2012 if its accession to the WTO is successful in 2011. At the request of the Russian government, the World Bank is providing advisory services to help develop an effective national ODA system.

According to reports by the Russian government, total bilateral and multilateral aid to developing countries was $800 million in 2009, up from $220 million in 2008. This would exceed the target set by the Ministry of Finance to increase ODA to $400–$500 million per year by 2011–12. Documents approved by the Russian government in 2007 publicly committed to reach 0.7% ODA/GNI, though no timeframe was given.

The Russian government has not set targets for increasing its development assistance to sub-Saharan Africa.Russia is undergoing a transition from aid recipient to donor and active member of multilateral organisations. The majority of Russian development assistance, both globally and to sub-Saharan Africa, is disbursed through multilateral organisations.

Russia has cancelled $20 billion worth of African debt through the HIPC initiative, surpassing its commitment at the 2005 Gleneagles conference to cancel $11.3 billion worth of debt owed by African countries.