According to Nana Akufo-Addo, the Russian paramilitaries “are on the northern border” of Ghana, which is “particularly worrying”.
mo12345lemonde with AFP
Ghanaian president Nana Akufo-Addo said Wednesday, December 14, that his neighbor, Burkina Faso, had “concluded an arrangement” with the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, a statement that the Ouagadougou government did not wish to comment on Thursday .
“Burkina Faso has now concluded an arrangement for, like Mali, employing Wagner forces. I believe that a mine in southern Burkina was allocated to them as a form of payment for their services” -Ali declared during an interview in the United States with the American Secretary of State, Antony Blinken.
According to the Ghanaian head of state, “the Russian mercenaries are on the northern border” in Ghana, which is “particularly worrying”. “We have no reaction. I leave him the responsibility of what he said,” Burkinabé government spokesman Jean-Emmanuel Ouedraogo replied.
In several French -speaking African countries, Moscow leads an active influence campaign, especially on social networks, and enjoys popular supporting support when France, a former colonial power, is increasingly vilified. Several countries accuse the junta in power in Mali of having recourse to the services of Wagner, reputed to be close to the Moscow regime, which Bamako denies.
the Burkinabé Prime Minister visiting Moscow
The question of a possible rapprochement with Russia has also arisen in Burkina Faso since the September 30 coup, the second in eight months, who brought Captain Ibrahim Traoré to power, while the country is struggling to face the recurring murderous jihadist attacks since 2015.
Monday, the Burkinabé Prime Minister, Apollinaire Kyélem de Tembela, met in Moscow the Russian Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov to discuss “the priority questions of the strengthening of relations” between the two countries, according to a statement from the ministry Russian Foreign Affairs. Asked about this trip, the spokesperson for the Burkinabé government did not wish to comment.
m. Kyélem de Tembela said at the end of October that he did not exclude re -examining his country’s “reports” with Russia. “We will try, as much as possible, to diversify our partnership relationships until we find the right formula for the interests of Burkina Faso. But there will be no question of letting us dominate by a partner, whatever it is,” -It specified in mid-November.
Thursday evening, the American diplomacy chief reiterated his fears concerning the Russian group. “As soon as Wagner unfolds, countries are in a lower, poorer, less security and less independent position,” alerted Antony Blinken at a press conference at the end of the United States-Africa Summit of three Days in Washington.
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“Our African partners tell us that they do not want to see their resources being exploited, they do not want human rights to be flouted, they do not want their governance to be saved, so in the end, They really don’t want a wagner, “he added.