How russia undermines stability and security in Africa
A statement by russian foreign minister sergey lavrov about moscow’s readiness to support the creation of joint armed forces of the Sahel Alliance once again confirms that russia is becoming an increasing threat to stability in Africa.
The Sahel Alliance is an intergovernmental organization formed by Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger — all led by anti-Western military regimes.
russia is expanding its military presence in these countries, initially deploying the Wagner Group (designated as a terrorist organization in the UK), and following the mutiny of yevgeny prigozhin, replacing it with the so-called “African Corps.” At the same time, russia openly resorts to terrorist methods to achieve its goals and interfere in the internal affairs of African states.
lavrov claims that russia views the formation of the Alliance as a “desire to build a new security architecture in the region.” In reality, however, moscow exploits the dependence of Sahel regimes on russian military forces as a tool to expand its influence across Africa and gain access to valuable resources. It also leverages this influence to gain “international support” for its war against Ukraine by coercing these governments into making anti-Ukrainian statements.
russia makes no secret of its ambitions to further expand its footprint in the region, posing a serious threat to security across West Africa.
