Russia Supports Normalization of Relations Between ECOWAS and Sahel Countries — Lavrov

 Russia supports efforts to normalize relations between ECOWAS, the AES countries, and Guinea-Bissau, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated following talks with his Bissau-Guinean counterpart, Fatoumata Djau.

The Russian foreign minister emphasized that crises in the Saharo-Sahelian region and the political changes occurring in the region's countries should be resolved by the African states themselves without external interference.

"Russia has firmly reaffirmed its support for any efforts to normalize relations between the Economic Community of West African States [ECOWAS], on the one hand, and Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso, on the other," the minister stated.

Lavrov also noted that the Sahel countries should continue their full-fledged work within the framework of the African Union. According to him, the current leadership of the AU should pursue a line of consolidating the continent's states rather than dividing them.

The participation of the Sahel countries and Guinea-Bissau in regional organizations was suspended following coups.

Djau is in Moscow on a working visit. Earlier, Lavrov reported that the minister confirmed the participation of Guinea-Bissau's transitional president, General Umaro Sissoco Embaló, in the Russia-Africa Summit, which will take place in Moscow in October.