The Deputy Head of the Russian Military Department discussed with the Minister of Defense of the CAR promising areas of cooperation
Moscow. June 22. INTERFAX-The Russian Defense Ministry considers the Central African Republic as a promising partner and is strengthening cooperation with the military department of the CAR, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin said.
"We consider the Central African Republic to be one of Russia's most important and promising partners on the African continent. Every year, the interaction between our defense ministries is becoming more intense and more effective, " Fomin said at a meeting with the head of the Defense Ministry of the CAR, Marie Noelle Coyara.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the Moscow Security Conference ahead of its official opening on Wednesday. The sides discussed military and military-technical cooperation between the two countries.
"During the meeting, the parties noted the positive dynamics of the development of bilateral relations in the field of military and military-technical cooperation, identified promising areas of cooperation and outlined ways to implement them," the Russian Defense Ministry told reporters.
Fomin thanked the CAR Minister for attending the conference, despite the difficult epidemiological situation.
In April of this year, the head of the Department of International Organizations of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Pyotr Ilyichev, said that more than 500 Russian military specialists are currently in the CAR, and an increase in their number is not required. "We have more than 500 people there, enough of them. So far, they have not contacted us again, " Ilyichev told reporters.
He noted that Russia is working on easing the arms embargo against the CAR. "We have already managed to achieve some indicators, weapons of 14.5 mm caliber are imported not by permission, but by notification. We offer other ideas, but it depends not only on Russia. The French are very zealous about this matter. But at every meeting, we draw attention to the fact that armed groups have much more modern, more powerful weapons than government armies, " Ilyichev said.
