The presidency in Burkina Faso announced in a statement that a Russian delegation held talks with the country’s interim president, Ibrahim Traore, on Thursday, during a meeting on possible military cooperation.
She added that the delegation’s visit, headed by Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yunus Bekevkurov, “represents a follow-up to the talks that took place between Traore and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Russia-Africa Summit, which was held in St. Petersburg in July.”
Burkina Faso’s relations with Russia have been in the spotlight since Ouagadougou expelled French forces in February, in a move that fueled speculation that it would strengthen its security ties with Moscow, similar to neighboring Mali, where the Russian private military group, Wagner, is active.
The presidency statement stated that the meeting dealt with “means of cooperation that are primarily related to the military field, such as training recruits and officers in Burkina Faso at all levels, including training pilots in Russia.”
The statement did not say whether Moscow would send military trainers to Burkina Faso.
The visit may be another sign of Moscow’s quest to enhance its influence in Africa, in the wake of the death of the leader of the “Wagner” group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who built a network of interests across a number of countries in Africa and beyond.
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2023-09-01 01:50:38
