Ouagadougou: Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin, who held consultations with the special representative of the UN Secretary General and head of the United Nations Office for Africa the West and the Sahel (Unowas), Leonardo Santos Simao, noted that normalization in the Sahelo-Saharan region requires international support from Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, indicates the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a press release .
‘The attention of Leonardo Santos Simao was particularly drawn to the fact that sustainable normalization in the Sahelo-Saharan region requires consolidated international support from Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, which are at the forefront of the fight against trans-African terrorism and who defend their own sovereignty.
The interlocutors exchanged views on the situation in West Africa and the Sahel “with emphasis on the humanitarian, social and economic challenges, on uncontrolled migrations, the lack of resources necessary for development, integration process, including
the activities of ECOWAS [Economic Community of West African States] and the Alliance of Sahel States [AES]’.
They further reviewed Unowas’ work aimed at strengthening stability, raising the level of trust and responding to a wide range of issues in West Africa and the Sahel. ‘Moscow expressed its support for the efforts of the Office and declared it important to deploy them in a neutral and constructive manner in the interests of all countries in the region,’ the statement added.
Source: Burkina Information Agency