The interim president of Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Traoré, received a Russian delegation on Thursday August 31 for a meeting which focused in particular on potential military cooperation, his services reported. This visit, the Burkinabe presidency said in a statement, followed discussions between Ibrahim Traoré and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin during the Russia-Africa summit organized in July in Saint Petersburg.
Since the ruling military junta in Ouagadougou in February ordered the departure of French special forces stationed in the country, relations between Burkina Faso and Russia have come into the light, with some expecting the country to West Africa is strengthening its security ties with Moscow – as has neighboring Mali, where the Russian paramilitary group Wagner operates.
During the visit of the Russian delegation, led by Deputy Defense Minister Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, discussions were held “the areas of cooperation which primarily concern the military sector, including the training of Burkinabe soldiers and officers of all levels, including pilots in Russia”, the presidency said in the statement. She did not specify whether representatives of the Russian army would be sent to Burkina Faso.
The meeting could be a further sign of Russia’s desire to increase its influence in Africa after the death of Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigojine, whose powerful group has built a network of interests across several countries on the continent.