Russia obtained access to Togolese ports under a deal signed on Nov. 19, the French daily reported. The agreement will allow Russian naval vessels and aircraft to use Togo’s infrastructure, giving Moscow “a favorable position on the main sea routes linking Africa and Europe with the Americas,” the paper said.
The accord also provides for the reopening of the Russian and Togolese embassies, which have been closed since the 1990s. “Le Monde” described the deal as giving Russia a new foothold in the Gulf of Guinea.
The newspaper said the agreement fits into a strategy toward Africa announced by President Vladimir Putin in 2023. In recent years, Moscow has gained allies in countries such as Mali and Burkina Faso, while those states have downgraded relations with France and the United States, it added.
France tried unsuccessfully to counter Russia’s growing influence in Africa, including through a meeting between President Emmanuel Macron and Togolese leader Faure Gnassingbe in Paris on Oct. 30, the paper reported. Less than three weeks later, on Nov. 19, Gnassingbe paid an official visit to Moscow for his first meeting with Putin since 2019.
Gnassingbe has been president of Togo for the past 20 years, taking power from his father in 2005. Last year he pushed through a constitutional change that makes the presidency largely symbolic, shifting most powers to the chair of the council of ministers – a post Gnassingbe assumed this year with an unlimited mandate.
Togo’s coastline is only 56 km (35 miles) long, but its capital, Lome, lies on the Gulf of Guinea. Until 1960, Togo was a French colony and part of French West Africa. Since independence, it has maintained strong ties with its former colonial power and is a member of the International Organisation of La Francophonie.
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Source: Polskie Radio 24