Russia-Africa Summit: "We are pursuing our interests", says Burkinabe President
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (PANA) - Burkinabe President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, said on Friday that Africa's rapprochement with Russia should not affect its relations with traditional partners, stressing that the black continent is merely following its interest.
When asked on Friday by the international television channel, Russia Today, about the new beginning with Russia, which could complicate relations with traditional partners such as France and the United States, Mr. Kaboré answered in the negative. "No, not at all! I think all these countries have relations with Russia! Why not Africa! We cannot be denied the right to be able to diversify our partners equally," he said.
Mr. Kaboré, whose comments were transcribed by his communications service, added that "it is part of relations and multilateralism in the world, and from this point of view, we are perfectly entitled to do so without any constraints, because, as we have said, we do not have an exclusive relationship with any partner".
For Mr. Kaboré, "it is our interests that we are following. We have simply asked the Russian Federation to invest in the various initiatives that are already being taken", in the context of the fight against terrorism."
Mr. Kaboré, who is also the current Chairman of the G5 Sahel, noted that "President Putin's commitment has been clear, to see how we can help African countries in this fight against terrorism and insecurity in general, it being understood that without stability, there can be no business development".
"These are related things and it will be a question, at the level of our structures, in particular, the permanent secretariat of the G5 Sahel, of continuing to do the work in order to be able to mobilize all these energies in favor of the fight against terrorism," said the Burkinabe president.
-0- PANA TNDD/BEH/MTA/VAO 25Oct2019
