The real reason Russia is wooing an African island nation

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Madagascar’s Randrianirina in Moscow on Feb. 19
Photo: AFP

Russia has been working hard to build closer ties with Madagascar’s new rulers since they staged a coup in October, Bloomberg writes.

The question was why, given the massive but relatively sparsely populated Indian Ocean island is one of the world’s poorest nations, has little diplomatic heft and is of limited economic interest.

The reasons for the courtship — including arms shipments and bodyguards for Malagasy President Michael Randrianirina — are now becoming clearer.

Madagascar sits on the Mozambique Channel, through which a third of the world’s crude oil passes. And Russia, whose oil is sanctioned by economic powerhouses including the US and the European Union because of its war on Ukraine, needs new markets.

In late May, the Malagasy government announced that Moscow may build fuel-storage facilities on the island, a useful strategic staging post for Russian exports. Its parliament approved a law to nationalize petroleum imports a few weeks later.

That move ended an arrangement with a group of private companies that dates back a quarter-century. The firms, including TotalEnergies and Vitol, ran tenders and distributed oil products in the country.

Their concern is whether they’ll now be asked to trade in sanctioned oil. That could trigger penalties for them and potentially their customers.

Still, Madagascar sourcing oil solely from Russia isn’t a given. The government has held talks with Oman, while ship-tracking data shows a tanker en route from China to the port of Toamasina.

That, sources say, is almost unheard of because the supplies weren’t ordered by the companies that have until now conducted the island’s fuel trade.

What’s clear is that Madagascar wants to choose their own friends and partners.