Sixth visit to the continent by Putin’s Foreign Minister in the space of two years: he visited Guinea, Congo-B, Burkina Faso and Chad by Cornelia Toelgyes–
June 6, 2024
Africa ExPress
The African safari program of the powerful Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation, Sergei Viktorovič Lavrov, was very busy. In three days he visited four French-speaking countries: Guinea, the Republic of Congo, Burkina Faso and Chad.
Guinea
On Monday, Lavrov stepped off the plane in Conakry – smiling and relaxed, without a tie – for a quick visit to Guinea, where he was received by his Guinean counterpart, Morissanda Kouyate. The head of Moscow diplomacy also spoke with the president, Mamadi Doumbouya, who has been in power since September 2021, after having ousted Alpha Condé in a coup.
It should be remembered that Russia was the first country to recognize Guinea’s independence in 1958. Then the new president, Sékou Touré, had declined De Gaulle’s invitation to join the Franco-African Community as an autonomous state. “ Guinea prefers poverty and freedom to the riches of slavery ,” the African leader replied to France, words that infuriated De Gaulle, but which remained etched in history. Since then, relations with Russia have remained mostly focused on mining.
It should be underlined that the bauxite extracted in Guinea represents 40 percent of the production of the Russian giant Rusal , one of the largest aluminum producers in the world. Precisely for this reason, Moscow has always tried to maintain cordial relations with the country’s leaders. In January 2019, the then Russian ambassador, Alexandre Bredgazé, now head of Rusal-Guinea , openly encouraged the former president, Alpha Condé, to amend the Constitution in order to run for a third term.
However, even the coup plotter in power today has maintained excellent relations with Russia. In fact, for example, on the UN resolution condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Guinea remained neutral. His diplomats left the chamber during the vote at the UN.
Mamadi Doumbouya, a former Foreign Legion officer , also remained on good terms with France, unlike his putschist neighbors Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, which severed relations with Paris. In order not to lose Conakry too, the French authorities are avoiding interfering in the country’s internal affairs. For example, criticism of the violation of human rights or the closure of the major private broadcasters last May, after the announcement of the indefinite postponement of the elections, initially set for the end of this year, also remains discreet.
Doumbouya reiterated that “Guinea remains an open and sovereign country, which collaborates with everyone”. However, before leaving for Congo-Brazzaville, the two leaders expressed their desire to strengthen their bilateral cooperation.
Congo-Brazzaville
The Republic of Congo , the second stop on Lavrov’s tour, is a long-standing ally of France and yet even in this country cooperation with Moscow dates back to the struggle for independence. The Parti Congolais du Travail (PCT), still in power today, abandoned Marxism-Leninism after the collapse of the USSR.
Here too, Lavrov first met his counterpart , Jean-Claude Gakosso. The president, Denis Sassou-Nguesso, received Lavrov in Oyo, his stronghold 400 kilometers north of Brazzaville. As in his previous visit in July 2022, the head of Russian diplomacy appreciated the balanced position of the Brazzaville government regarding the Ukrainian issue.
Lavrov then expressly underlined that his country supports the initiative of the Congolese president regarding the organization of an inter-Libyan conference. Sassou-Nguesso chairs the African Union (AU) high-level committee on Libya.
During his visit to Congo-B, Moscow’s diplomatic chief could not help but criticize the West and its alleged objectives in Ukraine and Libya. “What happened in Libya is a tragedy, for which NATO and its members are responsible. The same thing happened in Iraq and Afghanistan, where the West wanted to impose its brand of democracy.”
It is well known that Russia’s gateway to the conquest of Africa is Libya, where Moscow has close ties with General Khalīfa Haftar, head of the Libyan National Army (ENL). A few days ago the commander received a Russian delegation led by Moscow’s deputy defense minister, Junus-bek Evkurov, at a military base near Benghazi. While a few weeks ago, the general’s son, Khaled Haftar, went to Moscow. On this occasion he also held talks with Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov. According to some rumours, Moscow is starting its African Legion in eastern Libya, intended to replace the mercenaries of the Wagner group.
Burkina Faso
The Russian Foreign Minister’s trip then continued to Burkina Faso, a great ally of Moscow. Yesterday morning Lavrov met with the president of the transitional military junta, Ibrahim Traoré, and promised him to send other instructors to the country. A group of soldiers will also be trained in Russia.
For over 10 years Burkina Faso has been faced with continuous attacks by jihadists; attacks that have caused thousands of deaths and displaced over 2 million. “I have no doubt that thanks to our cooperation, the remaining pockets of terrorism in Burkina Faso will be destroyed,” Lavrov said.
Chad
The fourth and final stop on Lavrov’s African tour was Chad, where last night he met his counterpart Abderaman Koulamallah, who, sitting next to his guest, underlined: “Chad is a sovereign state, we maintain relations with whoever we want and we are not anyone’s hostages.” The former French colony remained France’s last close ally in the Sahel.
During a press conference, the powerful Foreign Minister promptly responded to his counterpart’s words: “Our friendship with the Republic of Chad will not affect its relations with France. Paris, however, has a different approach: either you are with us, or you are against us.”
Russia and Chad have maintained light relations , punctuated by regular contacts and diplomatic visits, since the signing of a “cooperation plan” in 2013. Their relations cooled at the beginning of the transition, which began after the April 2021 death of president Idriss Déby Itno. At the time, N’Djamena accused Moscow of using Wagner Group mercenaries to foment destabilization movements on its borders.
Relations between the two governments visibly improved in January 2024 with the visit of Mahamat Idriss Déby to Moscow. Then Vladimir Putin praised his Chadian counterpart for having managed to stabilize the situation in his country. Mahamat came to power in 2021, after the death of his father, killed during a firefight with rebels in the north of the country. Last month he was elected president with 61 percent of the vote.
Cornelia I. Toelgyes
corneliacit@hotmail.it
Martin Plaut 