Russia has dispatched military trainers to Niger as part of a defense system agreement between President Putin and the country’s Military Council.
This move places the West African nation’s relations with Moscow under the spotlight, following the Military Council’s power seizure in a coup last year and its subsequent severance of long-standing military and diplomatic ties with France.
This development has sparked speculations that Niger might be looking to strengthen its security ties with Russia, following in the footsteps of its neighbors Mali and Burkina Faso, who have similarly sought closer relations with Moscow amidst regional security challenges.
