"As for the illegal armed groups, as a result of the successful defensive actions of the CAR army with the support of Russian instructors, most of the gang formations have been defeated and have essentially turned into small criminal groups engaged in looting and violence. Their leaders remain abroad," Bikantov said.
The ambassador noted that "the CAR authorities highly appreciate the results of the activities of Russian instructors" in training the country's military, police, and gendarmerie, as well as consultations in the fight against illegal armed groups.
"There is a consensus in public opinion that Russia was able to prevent the violent overthrow of power in the CAR and, as a result, a new wave of civil war," the ambassador said, adding that Prime Minister Felix Moloua told him in a private conversation recently that "true friends are known in trouble," referring to Russia.
Bikantov added that the withdrawal of French troops from the CAR did not affect the situation in the country, which is now controlled by the CAR army.
In December, the French Ministry of Defense announced that the last 130 French troops stationed in the Central African Republic had left the country.
"As for the impact on the situation in the country ... we did not see assessments that the cessation of the long-term French military presence in the CAR in any way affected the security situation," the ambassador said.
The situation in this area is changing regardless of the French presence in the country, as the CAR army, with the support of Russian instructors, is successfully carrying out operations to prevent the infiltration of militants of illegal armed groups into the country from abroad in order to seize settlements, attack government bodies, military personnel, police and gendarmes, Bikantov added.
According to the diplomat, nearly 1,900 Russian military instructors are currently working in the African country, and Bangui has sent an official request to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to increase their number.
"Today, there are 1,890 Russian instructors in the CAR. The government is interested in increasing their number. Relatively recently, Bangui has duly submitted the relevant request to the UNSC," Bikantov said.
In 2022, Bikantov told Sputnik that there were 1,135 Russian military instructors in the republic at the moment. In 2020, Andrei Kemarsky, then director of the Department of Africa in the Russian Foreign Ministry, told Sputnik that some 235 Russian military instructors were working in the CAR.