Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has reiterated the official position on Sahelian States—Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali—to expect further discussions on practical areas of possible cooperation with the regional organization, the Economic Community of West African Countries (ECOWAS). “We know that ECOWAS pays special attention to this forum. And in the context of this forum, we are determined to deepen coordination not only with individual governments but also with regional organizations such as ECOWAS,” Lavrov said on the sidelines of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum.
The Alliance of Sahel States (AES), which created their own security pact in September 2023, have broken away from France and distanced themselves from Western alliances. And Russia is seriously leveraging to deepen coordination with ECOWAS, Lavrov emphasized, during diplomatic talks with the Chairman of the Commission of the Economic Community of West African Countries (ECOWAS), Omar Touray, in Cairo, Egypt.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has pledged arms, training—including peacekeeper preparation—and support against organized crime in exchange for closer economic ties. Russia’s model in the Sahel echoes its approach in other African states: providing weapons and military trainers in exchange for complete access to natural resources, often through barter-style agreements. Similar deals have been signed with about 15 African countries. Whether Russia can convert symbolic solidarity into real security and economic dividends in the Sahel remains an open question.
The AES states that rich in uranium, gold, and other minerals, they see these partnerships as a path to economic sovereignty. Russia, in turn, gains not only resources but also strategic leverage in a region where Western powers once dominated. Russia’s precarious finances and unwillingness to invest capital in infrastructure projects, and instead it has struck mutual barter deals with Sahelian States—Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali—to have access to mineral reserves in exchange for military supplies and free-tuition training of personnel in Moscow’s Military Academy. Considered widely as a reliable partner, Moscow is ready to create military bases in the destabilized Sahel region and further provide security for their leaders. For instance, since 2017, Central African Republic leader Faustin-Archange Touadéra has had Russian citizens as bodyguards, even as security at the presidency. By bilateral agreement, Russia has access to exploiting resources in the Central African Republic.
But during the two-day Ministerial Conference held in Cairo, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin said in an interview with the local Russian media that Russia would strengthen the defense capabilities of these three French-speaking African countries and is already assisting in building their capacity to counter internal and external threats, as well as threats across the region.
“In line with the objectives set out in the 2023 Foreign Policy Concept of the Russian Federation—in particular, supporting the sovereignty and independence of African states through the provision of security assistance, as well as facilitating the settlement and resolution of armed conflicts on the African continent—we are contributing to the strengthening of African countries’ defense capabilities,” Vershinin said.
According to him, prospects for creating a sustainable architecture for Africa’s socio-economic, investment, infrastructure, and technological development are “difficult to imagine without the swift resolution of the acute challenges facing the continent in the area of peace and security.” “There are indeed serious problems, and their impact on the situation in Africa must not be underestimated,” the diplomat noted. “These include, above all, the threats of terrorism and extremism, transnational crime, internal political crises, interethnic conflicts, and interstate disputes. The situation is particularly difficult in the Sahara-Sahel region, the Horn of Africa, and the Great Lakes area,” he added.
Moscow is convinced that effective and long-term settlements in the region’s hotspots can be achieved primarily “with Africans themselves playing the leading role in this process and exclusively in their own interests.” “Our approaches in this area are based on unconditional respect for the sovereignty of African states, the principles of mutual respect and equality, non-imposition of ready-made solutions, and the provision of assistance in those areas and to the extent requested by our African partners,” the official said. “We consistently support the cornerstone principle of ‘African solutions to African problems’ and the key goal set by the African Union in its Agenda 2063—to ‘silence the guns’ by 2030,” concluded Vershinin.
In any case, the AES states are oriented towards the current geopolitical trends of multipolarity. Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, by geopolitical reconfiguration in West Africa, command a combined huge territory (2,781,392 km²), with demographic resources (71.5 million inhabitants), social and cultural continuity, as well as a shared history, and are distinctively marked by French colonization. These states aspire to attain practical economic sovereignty. The creation of the AES marks a major geopolitical turning point in the Sahelian region’s contemporary history.
