For the first time in 32 years, Russia has done this in a West African country.

French news agency AFP reported that on February 28, Russia reopened its embassy in Burkina Faso after nearly 32 years.

Lần đầu tiên sau 32 năm, Nga làm điều này ở một nước Tây Phi. (Nguồn: The Sudan Times)

Russia and Burkina Faso are drawing closer together amid major political turmoil in West African countries. (Source: The Sudan Times)

In a statement, Burkina Faso's Foreign Ministry confirmed: "Russia officially reopened its embassy on December 28 in Ouagadougou."

Russian Ambassador to Côte d'Ivoire Alexei Saltykov said he will head the delegation in Burkina Faso until Russian President Vladimir Putin appoints a new ambassador.

Calling the West African country a “long-standing partner with whom we have strong and friendly relations,” the diplomat clarified: “Although we do not have a diplomatic representation here, bilateral cooperation in the political and economic fields has never stopped.”

The Russian mission closed its representative office in Burkina Faso in 1992.

Russia's move comes as the West African nation has experienced two military coups in the past year - both sparked in part by frustration at failures to contain a jihadist insurgency.

Last October, the military government in Burkina Faso signed an agreement with Russia to build a nuclear power plant to increase energy supplies for the Sahel country, where more than 75% of the population still lives without electricity.

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