Burkina Faso interim leader hails Russia as a strategic ally
Source: Reuters
Burkina Faso interim leader hails Russia as a strategic ally
Reuters
Thu, May 4, 2023 at 8:04 PM EDT·2 min read
OUAGADOUGOU (Reuters) - Burkina Faso's interim President Ibrahim Traore on Thursday said Russia had become a key strategic ally but denied that Russian mercenaries were supporting Burkinabe forces in their fight against Islamist armed groups.
The West African country's relations with Moscow are in the spotlight after it booted out French troops in February and ended an accord that allowed France to fight insurgents there amid a rise in anti-French sentiment in parts of the region.
In a rare televised interview, Traore was asked who Burkina Faso's international allies were now in the conflict that has killed thousands and displaced around 2.5 million in the broader Sahel region over the past decade.
"The departure of the French army does not mean that France is not an ally," Traore replied. "But we have strategic allies too. We have new forms of cooperation. Russia, for example, is a strategic ally."
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