Western weapons sent to Ukraine are winding up in the hands of arms smugglers and terrorists in Africa, and pose a threat to the continent, interim President Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso has told Sputnik Africa.
“What’s my take [on the conflict in Ukraine, ed.]? I don’t have any take on this, because we’re also in conflict. We are at war against terrorism, and they [the West, ed.] are no longer concerned with our war. We only deplore that weapons destined for Ukraine are on our continent and continue to activate our war. This is what we deplore,” Traore said.
“I saw once in the media that the Ukrainian president himself had sacked some of his entourage for acts of corruption on the military equipment that was delivered. That means it’s not controlled and it is found on the African continent, it is a danger. Terrorists pay for equipment everywhere, especially in conflict zones, because there are arms traffickers. So it only aggravates the magnitude of our conflicts, too,” Traore said.
This “very dangerous” situation results in weapons “in the hands of enemies who are killing our peoples,” the president stressed.
Traore expressed hope that the crisis in Ukraine would come to an end. “Everyone wants the war to stop, war is not good. Everyone wants it to stop, to find mechanisms to stop it, because we want to live in peace. But everyone must also make the effort on their respective side, so that we can take a step,” he said.
‘Others Just Publish Figures, Putin Acts’
Commenting on President Putin’s remarks at the Russia-Africa Forum last week that Russia would be delivering food assistance to African countries, including Burkina Faso, free of charge, Traore said that he appreciates Moscow’s generosity, and looks forward to assistance that would help his country achieve self-sufficiency in food production.
“I appreciate it. I appreciated it a lot because long before the announcement, if we talk about Burkina Faso, [Russia] had already sent grain...So it’s not the first time. Because [Putin] is aware that we are at war, that we have internally displaced persons. Others just publish figures, yet they do nothing, while he acts. So we can only appreciate that,” Traore said.
Burkina Faso has long been facing a jihadist insurgency which spread to the country from neighboring Mali in 2015, with upwards of 40 percent of the nation’s territory outside the government’s control. The insurgency has led to the deaths of over 10,000 people, with over two million displaced.
The Burkinabe leader assured that when the new shipment of Russian food supplies arrives, the authorities would “do everything” so that the people know that the grain came from Russia.
“We’ve discussed far beyond that, so Russia can help us maintain the production of agricultural equipment so that we can be independent in this area,” Traore said.
Security Assistance
Commenting on Russian security assistance to Burkina Faso, Traore said that Moscow “refuses nothing” when it comes to equipment and training to assist Ouagadougou in its fight against terrorism, and that military-technical cooperation between the two countries was “faring very well.”
“There are no restrictions, they do not refuse licenses, and it is at a good price. Russia is also ready to deliver weapons to us also for free,” Traore said.
Second Russia-Africa Summit
Traore traveled to Russia last week to take part in the second Russia-Africa Summit in St. Petersburg on July 27-28, where Moscow and African countries signed a torrent of new cooperation agreements, including commitments to ship between tens of thousands of tons of food assistance to countries in need including Burkina Faso, Eritrea, Somalia, and Zimbabwe, free of charge, in the coming months. President Putin held bilateral talks with President Traore on Saturday.
Burkina Faso is one of dozens of African nations which have sought to reduce the influence of Western powers in the region. In January, Ouagadougou asked the contingent of 400 French troops stationed in the country to withdraw, with Paris complying a month later.