You’ve our backing, Russian delegation tells Burkina Faso’s coup leaders

A delegation from Russia on Thursday stormed Burkina Faso and pledged full support for the military junta in the West African country.

Speaking after the meeting with military Head of State, Captain Ibrahim Traore, the Russian delegation led by the Deputy Minister of Defense of the federation of Russia, Colonel General Younous-Bek Evkourov, said various areas of cooperation were discussed.

“We discussed the issues raised during the meeting between the President of the Transition of Burkina Faso and the federation of Russia during the Russia-Africa Summit in Saint Petersburg.” We have also addressed the findings of the exchanges between the ministers in charge of defense of the two countries in Russia,” the Deputy Minister said at the end of the meeting.

The Russian delegation also presented the actions already taken in the field of military cooperation and discussed the perspectives with the Head of State. “These are all spheres including military and technical cooperation but also cooperation in the fields of economy, nuclear energy and all issues that could spark cooperation,” explained Colonel-General Younous-Bek .

The head of the Russian delegation assured the military Head of State of his country’s support for the Transition and the Burkinabe people in all sectors of development.

Several media reported that a coup d’état took place in Burkina Faso on 30 September 2022, removing Interim President Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba over his alleged inability to deal with the country’s Islamist insurgency.

Damiba had come to power in a coup d’état just eight months earlier. Captain Ibrahim Traoré took over as interim leader.