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22:31 03.04.2025 •
Sergey Lavrov at a press-conference with the top diplomats from Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.
Photo: MFA
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has met the top diplomats from Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger – the three countries that form the Alliance of Sahel States – in Moscow, TASS informs.
Lavrov held talks with Burkina Faso Foreign Minister Karamoko Jean-Marie Traore, Mali Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop and Nigerien Foreign Minister Yaou Sangare.
"This meeting, to be held at the invitation of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, is an important step in the strengthening of relations between the Alliance of Sahel States and Russia. It reveals the shared determination of leaders of the Alliance and Russia to broaden their political, economic and defense cooperation," the alliance said in the run-up to the visit.
According to the statement, the goal is to establish strategic, pragmatic and mutually beneficial cooperation in areas of mutual interest.
Alliance of Sahel States. Tectonic political shifts occurred in the Sahel region over the past few years. Anti-French forces came to power in a number of former French colonies. As a result, French troops had to withdraw from the territory of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger in 2022-2023.
On September, 2023, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger decided to establish the Alliance of Sahel States in order to create "an African space of sovereignty in security, politics, geostrategy and economy." Thus, these countries decided to take it upon themselves to solve regional problems. On July 6, 2024, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger announced the official creation of the Confederation of the Alliance of Sahel States to deepen cooperation and integration.
On January 28, 2024, the three countries announced a joint decision to withdraw from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which they considered to be "under the influence of foreign powers and becoming a threat to the member states and their peoples."
Russia has become the first country to recognize the Alliance of Sahel States, Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop said following talks between representatives of the Alliance of Sahel States and top Russian diplomat Sergey Lavrov.
"Russia is not only our partner, but also a permanent ally that we can trust. Russia has been helping us since the first days of our struggle for independence. Our presence in Moscow today shows that Russia is the first country to recognize the Sahel confederation," he said.
"We pointed out that we have common approaches, a common vision of certain problems in the field of security, peace, international and political issues," Diop emphasized.
Moscow is ready to enrich the military capabilities of the countries of Africa’s Sahel region, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated.
"I highlighted Moscow’s readiness to contribute to building the capacity of the combined forces of the Sahel countries, increasing their combat capabilities and the combat efficiency of the national armed forces of each of the three countries, training their troops and law enforcement officers," the top Russian diplomat said following talks with the foreign ministers of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, which make up the Alliance of Sahel States.
Lavrov also "pointed to Russia’s readiness to provide comprehensive assistance to the confederation in all three priority areas of its activities." "The first one is defense and security, the second one is the economy and the third one is diplomacy, that is, participation in global processes," he specified.
"We will fully support the consolidated positions of the continent in the future, assisting the formation of a fairer multipolar world order, where the African continent and Africa’s integration institutions should have a rightful place," the top Russian diplomat asserted.
According to Lavrov, at today’s meeting, the parties "were pleased to take note of their mutual determination to boost partnership based on mutual trust, respect and benefit."
President Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso has accepted Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s invitation to visit Moscow to attend Victory Day celebrations, Sergey Lavrov said at a meeting with Burkina Faso’s top diplomat Karamoko Jean-Marie Traore.
"We are grateful to President Traore for accepting President Putin’s invitation to take part in the events marking the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War," Lavrov noted.
He emphasized that cooperation between the two countries had "acquired a new, powerful dimension" in recent years, while the heads of state maintained regular contact.
The volume of mutual trade between Russia and countries of the Alliance of Sahel States surged more than tenfold over the year, Sergey Lavrov said at the press conference after talks with Foreign Ministers of Mali, Niger and Burkina Fasol, the Alliance members.
"Our mutual trade volume soar by more than times over the year. However, absolute figures are rather modest and do not correspond to opportunities in place, as we discussed in detail today," he said.
"We consider creation of the confederation [the Alliance – TASS] as the manifestation of the decision of three Sahel countries to build up the new architecture of regional security," Lavrov added.
Russia is regularly supplying agricultural commodities, fertilizers, energy goods and other critical items to countries of the Alliance because "it is alive to significance of such supplies for socioeconomic development of African nations," the top Russian diplomat said.
"We agreed for purposes of strengthening the material foundation of our cooperation to take further specific steps, they are already being elaborated, to implement joint promising economic projects either down the line of bilateral relations of Russia with each of three countries and in the context of the quadripartite format, considering the evolution of interesting and efficient integration mechanisms within the framework of the confederation," Lavrov added.
The alliance of Sahel States sees prospects for fostering cooperation with Russia in the sphere of defense, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Republic of Mali Abdoulaye Diop said at talks between representatives from the Confederation of the Alliance of Sahel States and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
"We can expand our ties as well as discover new prospects for working in the sphere of defense and security but also develop other areas for the benefit of our people," Diop said. "We are confident that the expansion of such bilateral ties at the level of the confederation will open up new aspects and thus we will further bolster sincere and firm historic ties that we have." The top Malian diplomat thanked Russia for its assistance in the economic sphere, noting that "a friend in need is a friend indeed."
Sergey Lavrov and Abdoulaye Diop confirmed the two countries' commitment to intensifying mutually beneficial cooperation in the trade, economic and humanitarian fields, the Russian Foreign Ministry said following a ministerial meeting on the sidelines of the Russia-Sahel Alliance consultations.
"During the conversation, a wide range of issues of further strengthening the traditionally friendly Russian-Malian relations were discussed in detail, and the mutual intention to intensify mutually beneficial cooperation in the trade, economic, humanitarian and other fields was confirmed," the Ministry said in a statement. "Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov confirmed Russia's commitment to continue providing comprehensive support to Mali in matters of counterterrorism and achieving sustainable socio-economic development."
The ministry added that the parties confirmed Moscow and Bamako’s common positions on major global issues, including the need to form a more just and polycentric world order based on the rule of international law and the provisions of the UN Charter, and the rejection of external dictates and neo-colonial practices.
In turn, Foreign Minister of Burkina Faso Karamoko Jean-Marie Traore noted that the Sahel countries and Russia "will put their heads together about the new architecture" of security, how to strengthen this architecture and "how to bolster what we have already achieved bilaterally."
Sergey Lavrov accused the authorities in Kiev of openly supporting terrorists in the Sahel and contributing to the destabilization of the situation in Africa.
"Some extra-regional players continue their attempts to destabilize the region even today. Among them, in addition to former colonizers, is the Kiev regime, which, with the full connivance of its Western sponsors, openly supports terrorist groups in this part of Africa," Lavrov stated following talks with the foreign ministers of Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso, members of the Alliance of Sahel States (ASC).
According to the Russian foreign minister, "the Sahara-Sahel region is currently facing manifestations of terrorism, with the root causes of these issues largely stemming from its colonial past."
Lavrov stated, "At the sole discretion of colonial powers – something we all know well from history – the borders in Africa were drawn without regard for the populations living in those territories, effectively splitting peoples and ethnic groups and leaving them in different states. This legacy continues to have a very negative impact," he emphasized.
The Republic of Mali regards Ukraine a terrorist state, said Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop. Ukraine provides support to terrorists in Sahel and acts as a sponsor of terrorism, Abdoulaye Diop said.
"These terrorists receive support from external players and regional players in our region, who, say Ukraine, provide support to these terrorists," the Malian foreign minister said. "Ukraine is a sponsor of terrorism, and this must be stopped," Diop emphasized. "For us, Ukraine is a terrorist state," he said.
The terrorists in the Sahel, according to the minister, "are supported by external regional actors who are in the region, help them and organize a rear for them, for example, Ukraine." "Ukraine is a backer of terrorism, it must be stopped," Diop said.
According to Diop, the Sahel states and Russia have common approaches and views on security issues, and "equally recognize and see how it is necessary to fight terrorism to ensure security in the region."
On August 20, 2024, the authorities of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger sent a letter to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres condemning Ukraine’s open support for international terrorism, particularly in the Sahel region. Mali and later Niger announced severing diplomatic relations with Ukraine due to its support for terrorists.
Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso intend to create a joint counterterrorism force to fight terrorist groups in the region, said Abdoulaye Diop.
"We have achieved satisfactory results in our fight against terrorist groups in our three countries. And today our main goal is to create a united Sahel confederation force to combat the terrorist threat," the minister said.
He called defense, security, diplomacy and development the main pillars of the confederation, and also stressed that the alliance views Russia as a "strategic partner."
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