As Wagner mercenaries bolster Russia’s influence in West Africa, Joseph Beti Assomo, Defence Minister in Cameroon, signed a military agreement deal with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Choigou, in Moscow.
The agreement was signed a week ago, on April 12, but only publicised this week on Thursday.
The two countries have agreed to share information and viewpoints in the areas of international security and defense policy, troop training, military education, medical, and topography.
The criteria are imprecise, and they make no mention of the separatist Anglophone problem in Cameroon’s North and South West regions, or the struggle against Boko Haram in the Far North. Cameroon and Russia have had official relations since 2015.
According to Thierry Vircoulon, coordinator of the French Institute of International Relations’ Central and Southern Africa Observatory, the pact represents a continuation of military ties with the West African country.
When Cameroon first signed in 2015, “it was after the first Ukrainian crisis and at the beginning of the Russian offensive’ in Africa” as well as arms deals with Russia, Vircoulon told newsmen.
During the UN General Assembly vote in February calling for the Russian withdrawal from Ukraine, Cameroon was absent, and for the second vote, it abstained.
