Russia pledges help to Southern Sahara countries grappling with terrorism

Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s top diplomat, indicated Tuesday that Moscow was keen to provide assistance to Sahel and Gulf of Guinea countries fighting terrorism, as he was on a two-day trip to ally Mali.

“The fight against terrorism is of course a reality for the other countries in the region”, he said at a joint press conference with his host and Malian counterpart Abdoulaye Diop.

“We will provide assistance to overcome these difficulties. This concerns Guinea, Burkina Faso and Chad, and in general the Sahel-Saharan region and even the countries bordering the Gulf of Guinea”, he added.

Lavrov is the highest ranking Russian official to have visited the West African country led by the transitional government headed by Colonel Assimi Goita.

The visit bolsters relations between the two countries. Mali under Goita has tilted towards Russia at the expense of former colonial power France.

Lavrov also promised Moscow’s commitment to continue providing military support to Mali also grappling terrorism. The Russian top diplomat vowed Russia’s increased commitment to help the African countries facing “neo-colonial approaches” from the West.

Diop stressed the rapprochement between the two countries arguing that Russia meets the needs of Bamako on security and military matters.

“We will not continue to justify our choice of partners. Russia is responding effectively to Mali’s needs in terms of capacity building of our Defense and Security Forces”, Diop indicated.

“Russia is here at Mali’s request. Russia is responding effectively to Mali’s needs in terms of capacity building of our defense and security forces, and we also want to improve this economically”, he added.