Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger Strengthen Russian Relations in a New Satellite Deal
Vladimir Putin standing with the Burkina Faso junta leader, Ibrahim Traore, at the Russian-African summit in Saint Petersburg, 2023. (Photo: NBC/Mikhail Tereshchenko)
On Monday, Sept. 23, a partnership was signed between Russia and the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), a military cooperation including Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso. The partnership is another step towards strengthening Russian relations with West Africa, especially at a time when the three countries have cut ties with the United States and much of Europe.
The partnership allows Russia’s space agency to deploy telecommunication devices across all three West African countries, creating unified communication systems across the combined territories to which all four countries will have access. Remote sensing satellites will also be developed and deployed to the borders of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, where Islamic State- and Al-Qaeda-affiliated insurgency groups are located and targeting military troops and civilians.
The AES countries, all led by military juntas, have been facing the brunt of Islamist insurgent groups and have previously sought support from the Kremlin to prevent further escalation. The threat of insecurity and terrorism in the AES countries at the hands of militants have only grown since then, and this deal will provide what Ilya Tarasenko, the Director General of Glavkosmos, emphasized as “crucially important” border security and surveillance. Islamist insurgents continue to operate on the borders of Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso, specifically in the Sahel region to the south of the Sahara Desert.
Niger’s communications minister, Sidi Mohamed Raliou, also emphasized the satellites’ support in helping the countries address climate change crises, which is important for the AES regions that have been devastated by such changes. In the past weeks, flooding in the West African region has led to over 1,000 deaths and impacted and displaced an additional 4 million civilians in the past year, according to the United Nations. The hope for relations with Russia is that Russian satellites will provide AES countries with advanced technology to detect, monitor, and respond to natural disasters like fires, droughts, and floods more efficiently.
This partnership not only solidifies Russian and AES relations but also signifies the broken ties between many NATO countries and Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, demonstrating the dwindling relationship caused by international pressure against military juntas. For a long time, European and North American countries have pressed for a return to civilian rule in these West African countries, creating a tension that ultimately led to the AES cutting ties. Russia has also been working to expand its influence in Africa in wake of their deteriorated Western relations.
Malians gather around an image of Richard Wagner, symbol of Russia’s Wagner Mercenary group, celebrating the departure of French soldiers in 2022. (Photo: The Washington Post/Paul Lorgerie)
Despite Russia previously trying to aid the AES’s struggling military with instructors, helicopters, weapons, and mercenaries from the Wagner group, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger still struggle to reclaim their territories from extremist-groups and the countries still face massive security risks in the Sahel region. The partnership between Russia and the AES aims to strengthen the power of the juntas in government in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, in turn allowing Russia access to resources and President Vladimir Putin to create alliances.