Russia breaks silence as President Putin warns Nigeria to tread carefully over Burkina Faso
By KEMI KASUMU and OUR REPORTER with agency
As tensions simmer, analysts warn that the situation could redraw power lines in West Africa, placing Nigeria in a delicate diplomatic position. With global eyes fixed on the Sahel, one misstep could have consequences far beyond the region.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has reportedly issued a stark warning to Nigeria amid escalating regional tensions, urging Abuja to proceed with extreme caution in its dealings with Burkina Faso.
The DEFENDER Newspaper reports that Russia, which is now about the most daring and feared country in the world in the real sense, has recently sent a clear message to the West and other African leaders to take note that “President Ibrahim Traore is our top priority”.
That, he demonstrated, when while other world leaders including China arrived for the last anniversary celebration of its victory over narcists in their own presidential planes, President Putin ensured that his own special and highly sophisticated presidential jet was dispatched from Moscow to Ouagadougou and flew the Burkinabe revolutionary leader who arrived into a more glorious and heroic welcome mounted by the Kremlin in his honour.
The Kremlin has made it clear that Burkina Faso now holds major strategic value for Moscow, following deepening military and political ties between the two nations. Any hostile move against Ouagadougou, insiders say, would not go unnoticed in Moscow.
Russia’s influence across the Sahel has grown rapidly, with Burkina Faso emerging as a key ally in a region increasingly turning away from Western powers. The message from the Kremlin is said to be blunt: Burkina Faso is no longer standing alone.
As tensions simmer, analysts warn that the situation could redraw power lines in West Africa, placing Nigeria in a delicate diplomatic position. With global eyes fixed on the Sahel, one misstep could have consequences far beyond the region.
