MOSCOW, November 25. /TASS/. Russia will continue to assist training the military and law-enforcement personnel of its African partners, Ambassador at Large, Head of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum Secretariat Oleg Ozerov told TASS on Friday.
"In its activity on the African continent, Russia is fully guided by the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of sovereign states or the well-known formula of ‘African solution to African problems.’ In this vein, we will continue rendering assistance to our partners in the sphere of developing peacekeeping, and training military and law-enforcement personnel," the diplomat promised.
Russia is among the top ten states that are instrumental in financing the UN’s peacekeeping operations, with peacekeeping efforts in Africa making up 80% of Russia’s contributions, he stressed.
Moscow is seriously concerned over the security situation on the African continent, Ozerov noted. In particular, the most favorable conditions have emerged for the Islamic State and Al Qaeda terrorist organizations (both are outlawed in Russia) in the Sahara-Sahel region to restore their potential, he warned.
"The tension in the Liptako-Gourma triangle - the border areas of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger - where high activity by militants from the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara and the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims [both are outlawed in Russia] is observed, has not subsided," Ozerov stressed.