BANGUI /CAR/, January 7. /TASS/. The incumbent president of the Central African Republic (CAR), Faustin-Archange Touadera, stated in his first interview with TASS after winning the elections that CAR is sincerely grateful to Russia for cooperation and called military-technical ties strategic.
"Cooperation between the Central African Republic and the Russian Federation did not start just now - it has roots going back to the 1960s. But in recent years it has significantly deepened and strengthened. We are sincerely grateful to the Russian Federation for this," he said. "Our cooperation also includes personnel training in general, as well as training of our defense and security forces. In 2018, Russia supplied us with more than 2,000 units of small arms. <...> Our military-technical cooperation is strategic in nature and has significantly helped us in overcoming the arms embargo issue.".