MOSCOW, October 22. /TASS/. Russia hopes that its partners would stop artificially blocking Russia’s request at the UN Security Council to continue deliveries of military equipment to the Central African Republic (CAR), Russian Foreign Ministry’s commentary published on Monday states.
"We are hoping that our partners can carefully investigate the military and political situation in the Central African Republic and stop inventing excuses aimed at artificially blocking the strengthening of the country’s national security forces," the Russian Foreign Ministry pointed out. "In this regard, we hope that the US will reconsider their approaches standing in the way of Russia’s request at the UN Security Council 2127 on the issue of delivering a second batch of military equipment to the Central African Republic. This will help continue the work on reestablishing control of the CAR’s legitimate powers on the whole territory of the country in the interest of establishing lasting peace and security in this African state."
The ministry acknowledged that Russian aid to the CAR attracts close attention abroad. "It seems like some countries are feeling somewhat "jealous" in relation to Russia joining the process of Central African regulation," the commentary notes. "Such a stance is counterproductive, especially in current conditions, when constructive cooperation of all international players in the interest of stabilizing the situation in this long-suffering country is in great demand in the Central African "field", while competition and zero-sum games are not."
On August 27-28, Sudan’s capital of Khartoum hosted talks under the auspices of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and with the participation of Russian mediators on solving the domestic conflict in the CAR between leaders of major armed groups, including organizations that used to be part of Seleka and Anti-balaka. On the outcomes of the talks, the Khartoum declaration was signed, which announced the creation of the Central African opposition alliance with the goal of reaching a long-term and stable peace in the republic.
The declaration confirmed commitment to the African Union’s initiative on establishing peace and security in the CAR and readiness to launch peace process with the central government. The document also expresses gratitude to Russia for its mediation efforts, which made it possible to hold the Khartoum meeting.
"Russia aims to use all available means to facilitate the negotiation process in the Central African Republic, with the aim to find a way out of the prolonged crisis in this African country," the ministry stressed. "The cooperation provided by Russia is in line with the efforts aimed at unblocking crisis situations on the African continent in accordance with the principle formulated by the African Union - an African solution to African problems," he concluded.