Russian Foreign Minister conclude his Africa tour in Chad

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday wrapped up a tour of West and Central Africa in Chad, during which he made anti-Western remarks.

Lavrov offered the four countries he visited briefly over three days (Guinea, Congo, Burkina Faso and Chad) to strengthen their cooperation with Russia, at the economic, commercial and military levels, in order to eliminate pockets of jihadist terrorism in the Sahel region.

For years, Russia has been making diplomatic efforts in Africa to seek to be an alternative to Western powers.

While facing international isolation and looking to forge new alliances, Russia has redoubled its efforts since launching its offensive on Ukraine in February 2022.

In N’Djamena, Lavrov told reporters that in Ukraine peace is not what the West wants to keep, but the following principles, the choice between supporting Russia and supporting Ukraine, and whoever supports Russia will be punished… This is the Western vision.

Chad is one of the countries Moscow is trying to include in its growing sphere of influence in the Sahel.

In the region, France was the most influential but its military was eventually driven out as part of a rapprochement with Russia in three countries.

Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger withdrew from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) at the beginning of the year to form their own organization called the Alliance of Sahel States, and in March announced the formation of a joint military force to combat jihadists.

France is deploying a thousand troops to Chad and recently reiterated its intention to maintain a smaller military presence.

In N’Djamena, Lavrov met with President Mahamat Idriss Deby, who was elected yesterday in a ballot whose results were challenged by the opposition and condemned by NGOs.

Deby was appointed interim president in April 2021 by a military council of 15 generals after his father, President Idriss Deby, was shot dead by rebels after 30 years in power.

In January, Deby visited Moscow in which he appeared to be in harmony with Russian President Vladimir Putin, raising questions about the Chadian president’s efforts to diversify his international support.

The visit took place at a time when Western capitals, with the exception of Paris, which have always shown firm support for him, were concerned about his desire to remain at the helm of an authority that so violently suppresses all dissent.

Military regimes that took power in Mali in 2022 and in Burkina Faso and Niger in 2023 expelled French forces that had been a pillar of the war against jihadist groups in the Sahel region, and began an opening to Russia.

Moscow sent paramilitary forces, especially Wagner Group mercenaries, and presented them as military trainers.

Surrounded by countries that received these mercenaries (Central African Republic, Sudan, Libya and Niger), Chad became the last, at least officially, to resist their deployment on its territory.

But social media accounts and pro-Russian media outlets are rife with rumors that N’Djamena has not confirmed or denied about the presence of Russian gunmen alongside Chadian soldiers, especially in the south.

During a visit to Burkina Faso, which is led by a military regime close to Moscow, Lavrov said that “the number of Russian trainers in Burkina Faso will increase”.

In Chad, in response to a question about military aid to the country, Lavrov referred to long-standing military cooperation agreements and ongoing, in particular the delivery of equipment.

“I can assure you: our friendship with Chad won’t affect its relations with France,” Lavrov said in N’Djamena, but noted that “France has another approach, either it’s with us or against us”.