Russia is reopening her embassy in Burkina Faso 30 years after pulling out of the West African country following the collapse of the old Soviet Union in 1992.
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the reopening of the embassy during a Russia-Africa summit in St Petersburg in July, but the opening ceremony in Ouagadougou, the Burkinabe capital took place Thursday 28 October.
No head of the Russian mission has been appointed but Russian ambassador to Ivory Coast Alexei Saltykov claims he would oversee the embassy at Ouagadougou until a substantive ambassador is named by Mr. Putin.
The reopening of ties between Burkina Faso and Russia underscores Putin’s deft diplomatic charm offensive to return Russia as a major geopolitical player on the African continent as it was in the glory days of the Soviet Union.
Since the coup in Burkina Faso in 2022, the country have been steadily pivoting away from France – her former colonial power and traditional ally, to Russia.
The military government there has in fact expelled French diplomats and closed France’s military base while strengthening contacts and military and diplomatic relations with Russia.
In July, Burkina Faso signed a deal with Russia to help in constructing a nuclear power plant for power generation and in November, a team of Russian doctors were on ground to help Burkina Faso manage the outbreaks of deadly dengue fever and chikungunya.
Similar pivot away from France to Russia seems to have also occurred in neighboring Mali and Niger Republic, which in fact are reportedly hosting the Wagner Group – a Russian private military company supposedly helping to fight Islamic insurgency in the Sahel.
It is likely that Burkina Faso may be following suit with her Defense Minister, Col Kassoum Coulibaly meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu in Moscow last month, in the latest meeting between military officials from both countries.
Col. Coulibaly said after the meeting that engagements between the military’s of both countries had reached a “practical phase“.
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