RUSSIA ACCUSES WEST OF SEEKING TO DESTABILISE BURKINA FASO, MALI AND NIGER. (PHOTO).

 Russia accuses West of seeking to destabilise Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger

The West is attempting to destabilise the situation in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, countries with which Russia’s cooperation is gaining momentum, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin said in an interview with TASS.

“These problems are real, and their impact on the situation in Africa should not be underestimated,” the diplomat noted. “They include, above all, the threats of terrorism and extremism, transnational crime, internal political crises, interethnic conflicts, and interstate tensions. The situation is particularly difficult in the Saharan-Sahel region, the Horn of Africa, and the Great Lakes region.”

Moscow believes that effective and long-term conflict resolution in regional hotspots can be achieved primarily “through the leading role of Africans themselves in this process and solely 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, the non-imposition of ready-made solutions, and the provision of assistance in the areas and to the extent requested by our African partners,” Vershinin 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.”