Russia believes that the way out of the situation in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) should be determined by the countries of the organization themselves, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The ministry's statement focused on the Extraordinary ECOWAS Summit held in Abuja on February 24, which resulted in a number of important decisions, including those touching on issues of maintaining the unity of ECOWAS in light of the recent announcement by the leadership of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso of their immediate withdrawal from its membership.
"Russia believes that it is up to the West African states to find a way out of the current situation. The window for dialogue between the AES and ECOWAS remains open, and the decisions of the Abuja summit can be seen as a demonstration of the political will to preserve the unity of the community," the statement said.
The ministry also reiterated Moscow's readiness to develop relations with the Sahel in the formats "they deem most optimal to ensure a collective response to the existing economic challenges and threats to their security."
Following the summit, ECOWAS announced the partial lifting of sanctions against Niger, including the opening of land and air borders, the unfreezing of Nigerien assets at the Central Bank and commercial banks in the Community, the resumption of trade and financial transactions, the supply of electricity and other services, and the provision of assistance by ECOWAS financial institutions.
ECOWAS imposed political, economic, and trade sanctions last year after a group of military officers from the presidential guard seized power in Niger in late July 2023 and removed President Mohamed Bazoum from power. The regional organization also threatened a joint regional military operation in Niger to reinstate Bazoum.
Prior to that, the bloc imposed sanctions on Mali in 2020 and Burkina Faso in 2022 in response to the military's rise to power.
The AES states, announcing their withdrawal from the ECOWAS, called the bloc a "threat" to its member states and slammed it for imposing "illegal, illegitimate, inhumane and irresponsible" sanctions on the three countries.