Russian Defence Minister Andrey Belousov has hosted talks with his counterparts from the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) and pledged readiness to provide assistance to ensure stability in the region.
“The decision to create an alliance is the result of the free choice of the Sahel peoples, a course towards sustainable peaceful development,” the Russian Defence Ministry quoted Belousov as saying in a statement on Thursday.
Belousov noted his country’s readiness to provide comprehensive assistance to ensure stability in the region, adding that Moscow supports the AES’s position on the “need to strengthen security, protect territories and sovereignty.”
‘Strengthening cooperation’
“Andrey Belousov emphasised that the four-party dialogue will become an important format for discussing issues of strengthening cooperation in the defence sphere,” the statement said.
It also said that Malian Defence Minister Sadio Camara, who delivered a speech during the meeting on behalf of Belousov's AES counterparts, noted that the initiative to organise their inaugural meeting is a common desire to strengthen the strategic partnership between their countries.
“Currently, cooperation in the field of defence is the largest area of cooperation between our countries,” said Camara.
The statement added that the parties signed a joint statement on the results of the consultations following the talks as well as memorandums of understanding between the Russian and AES defence ministries.
The AES was created as a mutual defence pact in September 2023 that was formalised into a confederation on July 6, 2024, signing a treaty to deepen the defence pact and expand cooperation in defence and economic and social sectors.
