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Central African Republic–Russia relations

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Central African Republic–Russia relations

Central African Republic
Russia
Envoy
Amabssador Leon Dodonu-Punagaza[1]Amabssador Alexander Bikantov [ru][2]

Central African Republic–Russia relations are the bilateral relations between the Central African Republic and Russia. Both countries established diplomatic relations on 7 December 1960[3] Relations have been historically strained especially under the Soviet Union, however the countries have become close allies since the rise of President Faustin-Archange Touadéra.[4]

Diplomatic missions

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The Central African Republic has an embassy in the Troparyovo-Nikulino District of Moscow. Russia has an embassy in Bangui.

Relations with the Soviet Union

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The Central African Republic took part in the 1980 Summer Olympics boycott which took place in Moscow.[5]

Relations with the Russian Federation

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Pre-Touadéra presidency

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In 2014, The Central African Republic joined most of the world in voting in favor of United Nations General Assembly Resolution 68/262, which was in condemnation of the Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation.

Touadéra presidency

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In March 2018, Russia agreed to provide free military aid to the Central African Republic, sending small arms, ammunition, and 175 instructors to train the Central African Armed Forces.[6] The advisers are believed to be members of the Wagner Group.[7] It was Russia's largest military deployment to Africa since the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union.[8] As of January 2019, the CAR is considering hosting a Russian Armed Forces base.[9] A former Russian intelligence official has been installed by the Central African president as his top security adviser.[10]

Since the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

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On November 14, 2022, the Central African Republic sided with the Russian Federation on a UN General Assembly vote calling for Russia to pay war reparations to Ukraine.[11]

In 2023, President Faustin-Archange Touadéra expressed support for Russian involvement in Ukraine.[12]

In 2023, the Central African Republic was one of 14 countries to vote against A/C.3/78/L.42 titled "Situation of human rights in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, including the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol."[13]

The Central African Republic is one of six African countries to be part of the free Russian grain deal. The other five countries are Somalia, and four other allies along with the Central African Republic. These four allies are Burkina Faso, Eritrea, Mali, and Zimbabwe.[14]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ African Initiative, African Initiative. "The CAR Ambassador to Russia visited Dubna University". afrinz.ru. African Initiative. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
  2. ^ Tass, Tass. "Moscow, Bangui choosing place for Russian military base in Central African Republic". tass.com. Tass. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
  3. ^ "62 years ago, diplomatic relations were established between our country and the Central African Republic". MFA Russia. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  4. ^ "Russia's Influence in the Central African Republic". www.crisisgroup.org. 2021-12-03. Retrieved 2023-11-24.
  5. ^ Eaton, Joseph (November 2016). "Reconsidering the 1980 Moscow Olympic Boycott: American Sports Diplomacy in East Asian Perspective". Diplomatic History. 40 (5): 845–864. doi:10.1093/dh/dhw026. JSTOR 26376807. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  6. ^ "Russia provides free military aid to Central African Republic — Foreign Ministry". Russian News Agency TASS. March 22, 2018. "At the request of the Central African Republic's president, Russia decided to provide the country with free military aid," he said. According to him, with the consent of the United Nations Security Council committee, the Russian Defense Ministry handed a batch of small arms and ammunition to the armed forces of the Central African Republic and sent five military and 170 civilian instructors to train the country's military servicemen.
  7. ^ Hauer, Neil (August 27, 2018). "Russia's Favorite Mercenaries". The Atlantic. Then, in March 2018, the Kremlin issued a statement that 170 "civilian advisors" (widely understood to mean Wagner forces) had arrived in the CAR to train government forces. At the end of July, another 500 alleged Wagner fighters appeared on the Sudan-CAR border.
  8. ^ Kisangani, Emizet F.; Pickering, Jeffrey (2021-11-30). African Interventions: State Militaries, Foreign Powers, and Rebel Forces (1 ed.). Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781108550802.002. ISBN 978-1-108-55080-2. S2CID 240255564.
  9. ^ John Vandiver (January 10, 2019). "Russian base in central Africa on the table while US refocuses its strategy". Stripes.com. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
  10. ^ Searcey, Dionne (2019-09-30). "Gems, Warlords and Mercenaries: Russia's Playbook in Central African Republic". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2022-01-01. Retrieved 2019-09-30.
  11. ^ "UN calls for Russia to pay reparations. How did countries vote?".
  12. ^ https://www.chathamhouse.org/2023/08/russia-africa-summit-fails-deliver-concrete-results
  13. ^ https://www.un.org/en/ga/third/78/docs/voting_sheets/L.42.pdf
  14. ^ Sauer, Pjotr (2023-07-27). "Putin promises free grain to six African nations after collapse of Black Sea deal". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-11-24.
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