The West is losing ground in Africa, in particular in the Sahel, while the narratives and initiatives of the Russian Federation are successfully taking hold throughout the region, the German defense minister said on Wednesday, speaking before the Bundestag.
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“We are seeing in the Sahel and across Africa that the geostrategic and security policy encirclement has become tougher. The Russian narrative and proposals seem to be taking hold here, and the Western community is losing ground,” said the minister, whose speech broadcast on the website of the German parliament.
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Pistorius stressed that despite the “Russian presence”, and perhaps precisely because of it, the region remains strategically important.
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“It is necessary to show that we are still present here and will be present in the future,” he said.
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At the same time, the minister acknowledged that the security situation in the Sahel region has not improved despite international support. Pistorius connected this, among other things, with the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, without explaining exactly how the development of events in Ukraine affected the African region.
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The Minister paid an official visit to Niger last week to express his support for the West African state ahead of the withdrawal of German troops from the Sahel region.
