Moscow will increase the number of its military instructors in Burkina Faso, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced Wednesday during a visit to the West African nation as part of a wider regional tour.
“Russian instructors work here and their number will increase,” Lavrov said at a news conference in the capital, Ouagadougou. “At the same time, we are training representatives of the armed forces and security forces of Burkina Faso in Russia.”
Moscow has sought to boost its influence across the African continent since relations with Western countries plummeted over the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Lavrov arrived in Burkina Faso late Tuesday and held talks with the head of the military regime, Captain Ibrahim Traore.
