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INTERVIEW: CAR president calls work of Russian instructors successful and fruitful

The work is going successfully and fruitfully

BANGUI /CAR/, January 7. /TASS/. Russian instructors in the Central African Republic (CAR) are working successfully and fruitfully, incumbent President of CAR, Faustin-Archange Touadera, said in the first interview with TASS after winning the elections.

"We continue this cooperation and highly value it: it allows us to train Central African servicemen and support us on security issues. The work is going successfully and fruitfully," he said.

Speaking on the issue of increasing the number of Russian instructors in the Central African Republic, Touadera said this should be discussed in bilateral negotiations.

"These are very specific and delicate issues of our cooperation with the Russian Federation. Right now, I cannot bring them up for discussion: we are currently negotiating with the Russian side on these topics. As for a possible increase [in the number of instructors or assistance], it depends on the situation, and the Central African Republic will not make such decisions alone - since this is within the framework of a partnership. Therefore, I cannot now speak in detail about the time frame or specifics," he said.

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