APA-Niamey (Niger) – The three countries in the region have grown closer to Russia in recent years.
President Vladimir Putin’s re-election in Russia has provoked a variety of reactions internationally. Having been in power since 2000, Putin secured a new six-year term following elections in which he won a landslide victory polling 87 percent of the vote. The head of the Central Electoral Commission, Ella Pamfilova, announced that 76 million out of 112 million voters had cast their ballots in favour of the incumbent, while his three rivals, Leonid Slutsky and Nicolai Kharitonov, as well as Vladislav Davankov, received just 11 percent of the vote.
However, this election was strongly criticised by the member countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).
According to Paris, “the conditions for a free, pluralist and democratic election have once again” not been met in Russia, while it also deplored an electoral process that was “not free and fair.”
Congratulations from the Central Sahel
Despite this international criticism, China congratulated Vladimir Putin on his re-election. In West Africa, at least three countries, mainly grouped within the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), sent their best wishes to the Russian president. On the social network X (formerly Twitter), the President of the Malian transition, Colonel Assimi Goita, expressed his “warm congratulations” to President Putin “on the renewed confidence of his People.”
Similarly, Colonel Ibrahim Traore, who has led Burkina Faso since September 2022 following a coup, wished the Russian leader “every success.”
General Abdourahamane Tiani, who has been in power in Niger since the July 2023 putsch, stressed that “the great Russian people (…) have once again proved their support” for Vladimir Putin’s “programme of governance.”
Strengthening diplomatic relations with Russia
These reactions from the central Sahel states come against a backdrop of strengthened diplomatic relations between them and Russia.
In recent years, Bamako, Ouagadougou and Niamey have drawn closer to Moscow, making Russia their new ally in the fight against terrorism, to the detriment of cooperation with France and the United States.
Following the rectification of the transition in Mali in May 2021, the colonels in power called on “Russian instructors” to help counter the jihadist groups. In response to the arrival of this new player on the scene, France announced the end of Operation Barkhane, deployed in the country since 2014. In Burkina Faso, Task Force Sabre has been replaced by the first Russian contingent of Africa Corps since the end of 2023, at the request of the transitional authorities.
Cooperation with Russia has also increased in Niger in recent months, prompting questions from the United States during the visit of three American officials to Niamey on 12, 13 and 14 March. At the end of the
visit, the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP) renounced the military agreements with Washington.
“Niger, which is waging a historic struggle to regain its sovereignty and its development, knows that it can count on your personal commitment and cooperation with the Russian Federation to succeed in its patriotic struggle,” the Nigerien leader indicated.
AC/fss/as/APA