The foreign ministers of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger will travel to Moscow this week as the three Sahel nations seek to deepen ties with Russia, their governments announced in a joint statement on Tuesday.
The three military-led nations, which have severed ties with Western forces in favor of Russian military support, have formed the Confederation of Sahel States (AES). Their foreign ministers are set to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow on April 3-4 at his invitation.
Describing the talks as the first session of “AES-Russia consultations,” the statement called the visit a key step in building “strategic, pragmatic, dynamic, and supportive” cooperation between the Sahel bloc and Russia.
Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have been battling a jihadist insurgency that first took hold in Mali 13 years ago and has since spread across the region.