Malagasy Defence Minister Leon Richard Rakotonirina says a military cooperation pact inked in January between Madagascar and Russia is nothing out of the ordinary.
“This pact, like the other military cooperation agreements Madagascar has signed with other partner countries, is nothing remarkable,” he said.
Rakotonirina made the statement on Malagasy defence during a meeting with a Chinese defence attaché and the Indian ambassador where he was asked about the transaction.
It had been previously claimed that the two countries signed a “five-year deal on military and technological co-operation, which covers arms supplies, training of military personnel, and equipment maintenance,” with the option of an extension.
Although signed on January 18 before the start of the Ukrainian conflict, Malagasy-Russian cooperation worries other foreign powers.
Meanwhile, Madagascar did not vote in the UN General Assembly’s Human Rights Council’s suspension of Russia on Thursday.
A total of 93 member nations voted in favor of suspending the eastern bloc’s invasion of Ukraine, which has been going on for nearly two months.
Twenty-four other countries, on the other hand, voted no. Despite this, the resolution received a two-thirds majority of those voting in the 193-member Assembly, excluding those who abstained from voting.
Apart from Madagascar, Angola, Botswana, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, and Egypt were among the African countries that did not vote.
Eswatini, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Nigeria, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, Togo, and Uganda were among the others.