Russia might open a military base in the Central African Republic

A military cooperation agreement between Russia and the Central African Republic signed last August would allow Moscow to open an official base, CAR Defense Minister Marie-Noëlle Koyara told the news agency RIA Novosti in a new interview. The Berengo Palace, where Russian military instructors are currenting training local troops, does not qualify as a military base, Koyara argued, even though “people have already started seeing it as exactly this.”

Several weeks before Russia and CAR signed the August agreement, three Russian journalists were murdered in the latter country while collecting footage of mercenaries from the Russian private military company “Wagner,” which is reportedly active in the Central African Republic. Journalists believe the PMC is tied to Evgeny Prigozhin, a catering mogul with close connections to Vladimir Putin.