MOSCOW, March 1. /TASS/. Moscow will support Africa’s efforts to combat terrorism and extremism. Russia’s top diplomat, Sergey Lavrov, announced at a press conference on the outcome of talks with his Nigerien counterpart, Ibrahim Yakubu Lame.
According to him, the talks mirrored the trust-based, traditionally friendly nature of both countries’ relationships. "Today, we confirmed our mutual interest in further developing our political dialogue, contractual legal framework, business partnership, and, of course, cooperation on an international level," Russia’s foreign minister stated.
"We have similar approaches to modern problems, to the UN’s role and to different conflicts, first and foremost, on the African continent," the minister emphasized.
"We have received some interesting information from our friends about how they see the solution to Africa’s problems, first of all, in the Sahara-Sahel region, and information on how the region’s countries can forge a joint struggle against terrorism, extremism and the drug trade. We will certainly support these efforts, as well as in the UN Security Council and in the framework of bilateral cooperation between Russia and the continent’s countries," Lavrov stated.
As for Niger’s top diplomat, he drew attention to the similarity of both countries’ positions on the security situation in the Sahara-Sahel zone. "We mentioned the crucial role of Russia as a significant political and economic player, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council. So, Russia has everything to help Niger with combating terrorism," Yakubu pointed out.