Central African Republic President in a visits Russia

The President of the Central African Republic, Faustin-Archange Touadera, said that his country’s army has become a powerful force that pursues and eliminates terrorists and criminals, thanks to “the Russian experts who trained it”, describing them as “brave warriors”.

On the sidelines of his meeting Thursday in Moscow with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, Touadera added that he wanted to continue working in cooperation with Russian experts who have proven themselves to be truly professionals in war affairs.

For his part, Putin welcomed security cooperation between Moscow and Bangui, where Russian forces have been in the country since 2020 to support the regime of President Touadera, who has been in power since 2016 and faces the risk of destabilization by armed groups.

The Central African Republic is one of the French-speaking countries in which France has seen competition for influence from Russia in recent years.

Since its independence from France in 1960, the country has witnessed a series of civil wars and military coups, and is classified as one of the poorest countries in the world, despite having significant mineral wealth.