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Russia to support G5 Sahel group by providing weapons, training peacekeepers — Lavrov

At the same time, Moscow will always insist that African nations should find ways to solve their problems themselves and the international community needs to provide them with support through the UN Security Council and other agencies, the Russian Foreign Minister stressed

MOSCOW, December 7. /TASS/. Moscow will continue to support the G5 Sahel group (Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad and Mauritania) by providing weapons, equipment and training peacekeepers in order to combat the threat of terrorism, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference following talks with Chad’s top diplomat Mahamat Zene Cherif on Tuesday.

"We have specified the steps that Russia is taking to support the armed forces of the five Sahel nations that are being formed at the moment. The process is about to finish. We will continue to support it by providing weapons and equipment and training personnel, including peacekeepers," the Russian foreign minister pointed out. According to him, Russia and Chad share the position that it is only through "nationwide dialogue involving all major political forces in society that the situation in any country can be resolved."

"At the same time, we will always insist that African nations should find ways to solve their problems themselves and the international community needs to provide them with moral, political, legal and financial support through the United Nations Security Council and other agencies," Lavrov emphasized.

The G5 Sahel group was established in February 2014 to maintain security in the western part of the Sahel region and coordinate the fight against international terrorism. In 2015, the group’s member states created joint armed forces to combat terrorist groups active in the Sahel region.

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Sergey Lavrov Russian Foreign Ministry

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