Burkina Faso's interim President Ibrahim Traore highlighted Russia's significant role as a key strategic ally in the ongoing battle against a jihadist insurgency plaguing the West African country and the broader Sahel region.
The country's relationship with Moscow has been in the spotlight recently, following the withdrawal of French troops in February and the termination of a 2018 military cooperation agreement that allowed the presence of French troops in the former colony to fight insurgent groups connected to al-Qaeda and Daesh.
In a televised interview Thursday, Traore was asked about Ouagadougou's international allies as it grapples with the jihadist insurgency that has killed thousands and forced some 2.5 million people to flee their homes across Africa's Sahel region over the past decade.
"The departure of the French army does not mean that France is not an ally," Traore responded. "But we have strategic allies too. We have new forms of cooperation. Russia, for example, is a strategic ally."
The Burkinabe leader expressed his satisfaction with his country's military cooperation with Moscow, saying, "It's frank."
He added that Ouagadougou will continue this cooperation, noting that the friendly country is a major supplier of military equipment to Burkina Faso.
The suspension of the military cooperation agreement between Ouagadougou and Paris coincided with a surge in anti-French sentiment in West Africa, including repeated protests in Ouagadougou demanding the departure of France's envoy to Burkina Faso, Luc Hallade, as well as French troops.
The agreement was signed by France and Burkina Faso in 1961. Among its key points were the training of Burkinabe soldiers by French military personnel; the "free" provision of military material and equipment; and the permission for Burkina Faso citizens to apply to French institutions and military establishments through a competitive examination with French citizens.
The Burkinabe government said at the time that it "decided to terminate it because the result did not meet expectations, as terrorism continues to spread in our country."