Russia has pledged to maintain its military backing for the junta-led governments of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, according to an announcement from the nations on Wednesday.
The three countries recently formed a breakaway regional alliance, a move that has significantly strained their relationships with Western powers.
The commitment was formalized in a joint statement released during a visit to Niger by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. The Alliance of Sahel States (AES) and Russia confirmed that Moscow would “continue its support for strengthening the operational capacities of AES member states’ armed forces.”
Lavrov traveled to Niamey to participate in a high-level meeting alongside the foreign ministers of the three West African nations. This gathering served as a follow-up to a similar diplomatic session hosted in Moscow in April 2025.
The three nations in the Sahel region are currently governed by military regimes that seized power through a series of coups between 2020 and 2023. Following these political shifts, the administrations distanced themselves from France, their former colonial power, and actively chose to align more closely with Russia.
Currently, Russia and its Africa Corps paramilitaries are assisting the AES nations in combating jihadist insurgencies, which have resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of people across the region.
Beyond defense cooperation, Moscow is also actively pursuing deeper economic ties with the AES countries, specifically targeting the mining and energy sectors.
