Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has arrived in the Republic of Congo, where he will hold negotiations with the leadership of this country, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote on her Telegram channel.
Lavrov was received by his Congolese counterpart, Jean Claude Gakosso, and is expected to meet President Denis Sassou N’Guesso later today.
This year marks the 60th anniversary since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia and the Republic of Congo.
It can be expected that Lavrov and his counterparts from the republic’s leadership will focus on further promotion of trade and economic ties. According to data provided by Putin at the negotiations in July 2023, trade turnover between Russia and the Republic of Congo soared by 85% in January-April 2023.
Lavrov’s visit to Congo – the second after the one carried out in July 2022 – will be dominated by the Libyan crisis, with the head of Russian diplomacy intending to reiterate his support for the president’s mandate Denis Sassou Nguesso, engaged for more than a decade in his capacity as chair of the African Union high-level committee on the crisis in Libya.
After the Congolese stage, Lavrov is expected in N’Djamena, Chad, where he will meet the newly elected president Mahamat Idriss Deby. Chad, together with neighboring Niger, is the last Sahel country to have abandoned the Western orbit to move closer to the Russian one, as demonstrated by the announced withdrawals of the US missions present in both countries.
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