South Sudanese President Salva Kiir arrived in Moscow on the evening of Wednesday, September 27, for a two-day state visit. On the agenda for bilateral discussions, the intensification of security cooperation ties between South Sudan and Russia. Cooperation also in the areas of education, health and economic development. Juba further hopes to receive Russian support for the arms embargo to be lifted soon by the Security Council.
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With our correspondent in Juba, Florence Miettaux
Barely four days passed between Salva Kiir’s return from New York, where he participated in the 78th United Nations General Assembly, and his departure for Moscow. A sign of the turbulence between South Sudan and the United States, Salva Kiir did not meet Joe Biden during his stay on American soil. On the other hand, it was with great fanfare that he was received in Moscow.
Accompanied by an imposing delegation with his Minister of Foreign Affairs and several senior security officials, the South Sudanese president expressed his wish for a strengthening of ties with Moscow. From the first minutes of his meeting with Putin and under the eye of the cameras, Salva Kiir declared that he had “not no alternative » and see in Vladimir Putin’s Russia « a strong friend » of which he “ need “.
The South Sudanese president hopes in particular to benefit within a few months from Russian support at the UN to lift the arms embargo. Russia is seeking new geopolitical allies amid the war in Ukraine. It is already investing in oil exploitation in South Sudan.