On Wednesday, 24 January 2024, African Initiatives, a Kremlin-connected media outlet, reported the landing of 100 Russian soldiers in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. They are the first contingent of a 300-member force of President Vladimir Putin’s newly formed Africa Corps – the ‘new Wagner’. In separate statements on their respective Telegram channels, Africa Corps and African Initiatives Putin’s boots’ marching orders include “ensuring the security of Captain Ibrahim Traoré, the Burkinabe transitional president and leader of the September 30, 2022 coup, and the Burkinabe people”. The “military experts”, as they described them, will also “provide training to Burkinabe troops and conduct patrols in high-risk zones.” Africa Corps, which takes over from the Wagner Group, whose founder, Evgeniy Prigozhin, died in an August 2023 plane crash, following an abortive rebellion against the Kremlin, operates directly under the command of Russia’s Ministry of Defence. Agence d’information du Burkina (AIB), in its publication of 27 January 2024, reported that: “this arrival of Russian soldiers in Burkina Faso, which is not a first, is taking place within the normal framework of the privileged relations that exist between the countries”. Citing military sources, the agency adds that the arrival of these Russians “is aimed above all at strengthening military and strategic cooperation between the two armies and between the two nations”.
This marks a turning point in thawing Russia-Burkinabe relations after a cold lull in the 1990s. The deployment bolsters Russia’s military presence and influence in the Sahel region, where Russian troops are already stationed in Mali.
Relations between Burkina Faso and the Russian Federation date back to 1967, when the West African country first established relations with what was then known as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Even then, Russia contributed to the training of many Burkinabe executives. However, the 1990s and early 2000s saw a slowdown, marked by the closure of the Russian Embassy in Burkina Faso in 1992 and the Burkina Faso Embassy in Moscow in 1996. On 6 December 2023, Aristide Rapougdoudba Ludovic Tapsoba was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Burkina Faso to the Russian Federation. On 28 December 2023, Russia reopened its embassy in Ouagadougou after 31 years of closure.
Ties between Russia and Burkina Faso have been cosy since Ibrahim Traoré came onto the stage. In September, for example, a delegation from the Kremlin, led by Deputy Defence Minister Younous-Bek Yevkourov was personally received by Burkina Faso’s military leader. Weeks after that visit, Traoré’s government signed several cooperation agreements with Russia in security, defense, humanitarian efforts, energy, and nuclear initiatives. Subsequently, Burkinabe Defence Minister Colonel Kassoum Coulibaly visited Moscow in November to meet his Russian counterpart, Sergei Shoigu.
As Traoré strengthens Burkina Faso’s relations with Russia, he severs ties with France, his country’s former colonial master. Apart from kicking out French troops in 2023, he has also formed a triad with Mali and Niger. They intend forming a confederation. Additionally, they have envisaged doing away with the CFA franc in favour of a common currency, the Sahel, which is now on the drawing board.
Putin’s Africa foray
Prior to the army deployment, Putin had also explicitly expressed interest in strengthening relations with not just Burkina Faso, but the entire African continent. “Russia’s attention to Africa is steadily growing,” Putin said in July 2023 at the end of the second Russia-Africa Summit in St Petersburg, at which the two parties agreed to promote a multipolar world order and fight “neo-colonialism”. Russia’s strongman also mentioned the “joint determination to counter neo-colonialism, the practice of applying illegitimate sanctions and attempts to undermine traditional moral values”. There were representatives of 49 African countries, including 17 heads of state, who attended the summit. Among them were the Republic of the Congo’s Denis Sassou Nguesso, Senegal’s Macky Sall, South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa, Central African Republic’s Faustin Archange Touadera and Mali’s Assimi Goïta.
Russia’s overtures to Africa are not new. For years, the Kremlin has openly engaged, diplomatically and economically with the continent. It has also offered security services in the form of the Wagner mercenary army to African governments to fend off armed groups. But it now appears Putin is trying to take the relationship with Africa to a higher level. At the summit, Mr Putin reiterated that Russia would “continue to supply African friends with grain crops both on a contractual basis and free of charge”. Of course, Burkina Faso was one of the beneficiaries along with Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, Central African Republic, Eritrea. They were to receive between 25,000 and 50,000 tonnes of grain ‘free of charge, the Russian president announced. “We will be ready in the coming months, in the next three to four months, to provide Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, the Central African Republic, and Eritrea with 25,000-50,000 tonnes of grain free of charge. We will also provide free delivery of this product to consumers,” Putin said during his opening speech at the Russia-Africa Summit in St. Petersburg. Putin analysed that there is a “paradoxical picture” emerging where Western countries are obstructing the supply of Russian grain and fertilisers, while also “hypocritically” accusing Moscow of the “current crisis in the world food market.”
“This approach was especially evident in the implementation of the so-called grain deal, which was concluded with the participation of the UN Secretariat and was originally aimed at ensuring global food security, reducing the threat of hunger and helping the poorest countries, including in Africa,” Putin said.
Furthermore, Mr Putin mentioned that a total of 32.8 million tonnes of cargo was exported from Ukraine as part of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, adding that more than 70% of grain exported went to high- and upper-middle-income countries. He also said that the share of countries such as Ethiopia, Sudan, and Somalia accounted for less than 3% of the total, which he said amounted to less than 1 million tons of grain. “None of the terms of the deal regarding the withdrawal from the sanctions of Russian exports of grain and fertilisers to world markets was fulfilled. None. Obstacles were also raised for the gratuitous transfer of mineral fertilisers by us to the poorest countries in need,” he added.
Mr Putin asserted the significant role Russia plays in terms of grain contribution to global food security by having a 20% share in the global wheat market. Any doubts about that fact, he insisted, are simply distortions and lies. “This has been the practice of some Western states for decades if not centuries.”
Russia, Putin added, was ready to help Africa become a net exporter of food. “For its part, Russia is ready to share its expertise in the field of agricultural production with African countries and to assist in the introduction of the most advanced technologies,” he said.
On energy, Putin expressed a desire for cooperation with African countries. “This cooperation is based on rich experience: over many years, Soviet and Russian specialists have designed and built large energy centres in Angola, Egypt, Ethiopia and other countries of the continent with a total capacity of 4.6 gigawatts, … a quarter of Africa’s hydropower capacity,” he said. Also, he underscored that Russian companies are implementing new mutually beneficial projects aimed at “meeting the growing needs of the African economies for fuel and generating capacity, to provide Africans with access to affordable and reliable, sustainable and environmentally friendly energy sources. “In that department, Putin said there are more than 30 energy projects with Russian participation in 16 different African countries in varying degrees of development. As well, Putin announced that the leaders had agreed to improve cooperation on aid and trade, including by “consistently switching to national currencies for commercial transactions”. Putin also pledged to forgive Africa’s debts.
These are pretty mouth-watering offers from the Russian leader. But is Putin going through all that trouble just to find allies in Africa, and for what; or are his gifts a Trojan horse?
A few days before the summit, Mr Putin wrote the following article: “Russia and Africa: Joining Efforts for Peace, Progress and a Successful Future” which was published by the Kremlin on his official website, ‘President of Russia’. In it, the Russian leader spelt out his vision for his country’s relationship with Africa.
He said the partnership and relationship between Russia and Africa “have strong, deep roots and have always been distinguished by stability, trust and goodwill”, noting: “We have consistently supported African peoples in their struggle for liberation from colonial oppression”. Also, Putin mentioned: “We have provided assistance in developing statehood, strengthening their sovereignty and defence capability”.
“Much”, he added, “has been done to create sustainable foundations for national economies”, recalling: “By the mid-1980s, with the participation of our specialists, over 330 large infrastructure and industrial facilities have been built in Africa, such as power plants, irrigation systems, industrial and agricultural enterprises, which are successfully operating to this day, and continue to make a significant contribution to the continent’s economic development”. Additionally, Mr Putin indicated that: “Tens of thousands of African doctors, technical specialists, engineers, officers and teachers have received education in Russia”.
“I would like to specifically mention the traditionally close cooperation on the world stage, the firm and consistent advocacy rendered by the USSR and then Russia to African countries at international fora. We have always strictly adhered to the ‘African solutions to African problems’ principle, standing in solidarity with Africans in their struggle for self-determination, justice and their legitimate rights”, the Russian leader pointed out.
Differentiating his country’s relationship with Africa from that of the West, the Russian leader noted: “We have never tried to impose on partners our own ideas about the internal structure, forms and methods of management, development goals and ways to achieve them. Unchanged remains our respect for the sovereignty of African states, their traditions and values, their desire to independently determine their own destiny and freely build relationships with partners”.
He said: “We highly value the honestly-gained capital of friendship and cooperation, traditions of trust and mutual support that Russia and African countries share. We are brought together by a common desire to shape a system of relations based on the priority of international law, respect for national interests, indivisibility of security, and recognition of the central coordinating role of the United Nations”.
Currently, Mr Putin stressed, “the constructive, trustful, forward-looking partnership between Russia and Africa is especially significant and important”, explaining: “Major centres of economic and political power and influence are emerging in the world, which are asserting themselves more and more insistently, demanding that they be reckoned with. We are sure that a new multipolar world order, the contours of which are already seen, will be more just and democratic. And there is no doubt that Africa, along with Asia, the Middle East and Latin America, will take its worthy place in it and finally free itself from the bitter legacy of colonialism and neo-colonialism, rejecting its modern practices”.
Russia, Mr Putin indicated, “welcomes the rising international authority of individual states as well as Africa as a whole, their desire to make their voices strongly heard and to take the continent’s problems into their own hands. We have always supported the constructive initiatives of our partners. We stand for granting African countries their rightful place in the structures that determine the world’s fate, including the UN Security Council and the G20, as well as for reforming the global financial and trade institutions in a way that meets their interests”.
Regrettably, Mr Putin acknowledged, “We see that the situation in the world today is far from stable. The long-standing conflicts that exist in nearly every region are deepening, and new threats and challenges are emerging. And Africa feels the burden of global challenges like no other part of the world. In such a challenging environment, we look forward to working with our African partners to shape a non-discriminatory agenda for cooperation”.
“The strategic areas of our interaction are set by the decisions of the first Russia-Africa Summit held in Sochi in late October 2019. The Russia-Africa Partnership Forum was established for their effective implementation. We have set up bilateral intergovernmental commissions for trade, economic, scientific and technological cooperation with many countries of the continent, and the network of Russian embassies and trade missions in Africa will be expanded. Further instruments are being actively developed to better structure economic relations and make them more dynamic”, Mr Putin highlighted.
He emphasised, “with satisfaction” that Russia’s trade turnover with the African countries increased in 2022 and reached almost 18 billion US dollars. However, he added, “We are all well aware that the potential of our trade and economic partnership is much higher. Russian companies are interested in working more actively on the continent in the sphere of high technologies and geological exploration, in the fuel and energy complex, including nuclear power, in the chemical industry, mining and transport engineering, agriculture and fishery. The changes taking place in the world require the search for solutions related to the establishment of new transport and logistical chains, the formation of a monetary and financial system, and mechanisms of mutual settlements that are safe and free from unfavourable external impacts”.
According to Mr Putin, Russia understands “the importance of uninterrupted food supplies for the socio-economic development and political stability of the African states”. On this basis, he said Russia has “always paid great attention to issues related to the supply of wheat, barley, maize and other crops to African countries. We have done so both on a contractual basis and free of charge as humanitarian aid, including through the United Nations Food Programme. Thus, in 2022, Russia exported 11.5 million tonnes of grain to Africa, and almost 10 million tonnes more were delivered in the first half of 2023 – despite the sanctions imposed on our exports, which severely hamper the supply of Russian food products to developing countries, complicating transport logistics, insurance arrangements and bank payments”.
“Many have probably heard of the so-called ‘grain deal’, whose initial purpose was to ensure global food security, reduce the threat of hunger and help the poorest countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America – the reason why Russia undertook the obligation to facilitate its implementation in the first place. This ‘deal’, however, while it was publicly advertised by the West as a gesture of goodwill that benefited Africa, has, in fact, been shamelessly used solely for the enrichment of large US and European businesses that exported and resold grain from Ukraine”, Mr Putin said.
Demonstrating the unjust nature of the deal, Mr Putin crunched up some numbers, exclaiming: “Judge for yourselves: in almost a year, a total of 32.8 million tonnes of supplies were exported from Ukraine under the ‘deal’, with over 70 per cent of the exports ending up in high- and upper-middle-income countries, including in the European Union, whereas such countries as Ethiopia, Sudan and Somalia, as well as Yemen and Afghanistan, received less than 3 per cent of the supplies, i.e. less than one million tonnes”.
In the meantime, he complained, “none of the ‘deal’ provisions relating to the exemption from sanctions of Russian grain and fertiliser exports to world markets, were fulfilled. Moreover, barriers have been mounted even to our attempts to supply free-of-charge mineral fertilisers to the poorest countries in need. Of 262,000 tonnes of goods blocked in European ports, only two shipments were delivered – one of 20,000 tonnes to Malawi and one of 34,000 tonnes to Kenya. The rest is still unscrupulously held by the Europeans. And this is a purely humanitarian initiative we are talking about, which should be exempt from any sanctions as such”.
In his view, “Considering all these facts, there is no longer any use in continuing the ‘grain deal’ as it has failed to serve its original humanitarian purpose. We argued against further extending the ‘deal’, which terminated as of July 18”.
“I want to give assurances that our country is capable of replacing the Ukrainian grain both on a commercial and free-of-charge basis, especially as we expect another record harvest this year”, Mr Putin projected.
Notwithstanding the sanctions, Mr Putin promised that “Russia will continue its energetic efforts to provide supplies of grain, food products, fertilisers and other goods to Africa. We highly value and will further develop the full spectrum of economic ties with Africa – with individual states as well as regional integration associations and, naturally, with the African Union. We welcome this organisation’s strategic course towards further economic integration and the formation of the African Continental Free Trade Area. We are ready to build pragmatic, mutually beneficial relations, including within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union. We are also willing to step up cooperation with other regional integration organisations on the continent”.
In keeping with the existing tradition, he hinted at Russia’s intent “to continue providing assistance to African states in building their national human resource capacity”, saying: “There are currently about 35 thousand students from the continent in Russia, more than 6,000 of them receive Russian government scholarships. Each year we increase the number of scholarships, promote paid higher education options and facilitate inter-university ties, which have gained significant momentum in recent times”.
To Putin, “bringing humanitarian, cultural, sports, and mass media cooperation to a whole new level would serve our common interests. I would like to seize this opportunity to invite our young African friends to the World Youth Festival, which will take place in Sochi, Russia, in March 2024. This large-scale international forum will bring together more than 20,000 participants from more than 180 countries for an informal, friendly and open dialogue that is free from ideological and political barriers; and racial and religious prejudice; and would consolidate the young generation around the ideals of lasting and durable peace, prosperity and creative spirit”.
Mr Putin concluded: “We are working to prepare an impressive package of intergovernmental and inter‑agency agreements and memoranda with individual states as well as regional associations of the continent”, and “I firmly believe that the decisions adopted at the Summit and Forum, coupled with continuous diversified joint work will contribute to further development of Russian‑African strategic partnership for the benefit of our countries and peoples”.
At least, Putin’s love affair with Africa paid off in one significant way when South Africa, which hosted a meeting by the BRICS economic bloc of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa in August 2023, stated clearly that there was no way it was going to arrest the Russian president, for whom an International Criminal Court warrant has been issued if he stepped on South African soil. The International Criminal Court indictment in March 2023, charged the Russian leader with war crimes over the removal of children from Ukraine. South Africa, which already has strong historical ties with Russia, is also a signatory to the international court’s treaty. It, therefore, had the obligation of arresting Mr Putin if he had travelled to Johannesburg – which he didn’t. “It’s almost like you invite your friend to your house, and then arrest them,” South Africa’s Deputy President Paul Mashatile said at the time. “That’s why for us his not coming is the best solution. The Russians are not happy, though. They want him to come.”
What’s in it for Putin?
From all indications, South Africa wasn’t going to arrest a friend and ally like Putin – if he had made the trip – and hand him over to the ICC, as any signatory to the Rome Statute is obliged to. Such defiance could have had dire consequences for South Africa. According to Dr Paul L. Vandoren, a former acting head of the EU delegation to Russia and former EU ambassador to Croatia (residing in South Africa and Europe), the situation, momentarily, put South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who currently holds the Chairship of BRICS, in a conundrum. It was inconceivable that, as the host of the BRICS meeting, he would disinvite Putin; at the same time, his government’s responsibility towards the ICC was clear, as South Africa is a signatory of the court’s Rome Statute. In his article, ‘Did Vladimir Putin really fear being arrested in South Africa?’ on friendsofeurope.org, Dr Vandoren said, “Even if South Africa decided to withdraw from the ICC, the internal legal procedures within the country could not have been accomplished within the necessary timeframe. Hence, there would have been no choice but to arrest Putin if he decided to set foot on South African soil”.
On the flip side, he wrote: “Not doing so would violate international law and disregard internal legal procedures. South Africa would lose respect internationally, specifically from the coalition of Western leaders defending Ukraine against the brutal war initiated by Putin 18 months ago. The country would risk losing the benefits of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) with the United States, which gives South African products duty- and quota-free access to the US market and offers more advantages in terms of real money than any alliance with Russia. The EU would surely take a strong stance if South Africa, which claims to be neutral, openly sided with Russia. This so-called ‘neutrality’ already loses credence as noted from the positioning by China. Hypothetically, how could South Africa even benefit from supporting a Russian leader who is subject to an international arrest warrant?”
In Dr Vandoren’s analysis, Putin did South Africa no favour when he decided against attending the BRICS meeting in person. He surmised that staying put was in Putin’s interest, as well. “It is unlikely that Putin decided against attending the BRICS meeting out of courtesy. Was it out of respect for the decision adopted by the ICC? Definitively not. Putin cannot leave Russia and risk an uprising in his absence. Coups often happen when dictators leave the security of their capitals. Putin certainly remembers the coup attempt when Gorbachev went to Crimea in 1991”.
Dr Vandoren believes some “developments triggered by Yevgeny Prigozhin’s mutiny, the circumstances of which remain very obscure, weakened Putin – perhaps, even significantly. Hence, the less damaging decision for Putin to take was to stay at home and defend his prevailing interest in survival and power from Moscow.
Putin is determined to stay in power at any price and any cost. Unfortunately, the lives of thousands and thousands of Ukrainian and Russian military personnel and civilians do not seem to be a concern to Putin”. Russia, like China, is making inroads in Africa much to the chagrin of Europe and the United States, who hitherto had all the ‘cake’ to themselves. With the ominous footprints of the Wagner Group in Mali, the Central African Republic (CAR), Libya and, northern Mozambique, despite Prigozhin’s death in that mysterious plane crash, Russia has a chokehold of sorts on the Sahel and could easily determine who becomes leader in those countries just as France had done for decades in most Francophone African countries in the sub-region. If Wagner has to help leaders in the Sahel fight off jihadists, then Russia might as well have a say in who rules there. Is Africa, therefore, caught up in a never-ending cyclical rut: extraneous powers determining its domestic affairs, whether they be the United States, EU, China or Russia? And which superpower would next join the table to have their share of the African pie? Is Africa blindly or knowingly acquiescing to a disguised form of the Berlin Conference of 1884–1885 which resulted in the partitioning of the continent among Western powers? Is Russia just joining the bandwagon so it doesn’t lose out on the African loot any longer or genuinely and altruistically strengthening ties with the continent without any hidden agenda? And is Africa taking the bait or being cautious about it? Is Russia merely using its ties with Africa to spite the US and the rest of Europe? And does Africa stand to gain or lose from this newfound liaison? Whatever the answers may be, one thing is for certain: Africa is becoming everybody’s playground. And the continent’s poverty has become a goldmine for superpowers who dangle gifts with hidden interests, no matter how loving and sympathetic they may sound. The Nuclear Power certainly has a game plan for Africa and what that is can only be betrayed by time.
