MOSCOW, Jan 7 (Reuters) – The newly re-elected president of the Central African Republic, Faustin-Archange Touadera, has invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to visit his country, Russian state news agency TASS reported on Wednesday.
Moscow has become a key ally of Touadera in recent years, with CAR in 2018 becoming the first West and Central African nation to bring in Russia’s Wagner mercenaries as the chronically unstable nation sought to fend off several rebel groups.
Touadera, in power since 2016, won a third term in office, provisional results showed this week, securing an outright majority in the presidential election held on December 28.
In a video interview with TASS, Touadera called Putin a “great leader” and said the Kremlin chief was “very attentive” to relations with Bangui.
Commenting on preliminary election results showing Touadera in the lead, the Wagner Group wrote on its Telegram channel: “We have no doubt that the chosen course of maintaining order and peace will prevail.”
Touadera’s victory is likely to further Russia’s interests in the country, including in gold and diamond mining.
(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Lucy PapachristouEditing by Andrew Osborn)
Central African Republic (CAR) President Faustin-Archange Touadéra has won a third term in office after securing an outright majority in last month’s presidential election, provisional results show.
The 68-year-old mathematics professor was widely expected to win after the main opposition coalition boycotted the election, citing concerns about electoral fairness.
Touadéra campaigned on his security record in the chronically unstable nation after rebels seized power in 2013, a crisis that led the government to enlist support from Russian mercenaries and Rwandan soldiers.
He has faced heavy criticism after a 2023 constitution removed term limits, allowing him to keep running for office.
More than 2.4 million people registered for the 28 December general election, which observers described as largely peaceful despite delays caused by late polling materials and problems with the electoral register.
Touadéra secured 76% of the vote, according to preliminary results announced late on Monday by the election agency.
His closest challengers, Anicet-Georges Dologuélé and Henri-Marie Dondra, both former prime ministers, received 15% and about 3% of the vote, respectively.
Both have called for the results to be annulled, alleging widespread irregularities and electoral fraud.
On Friday, Dologuélé said there had been “a methodical attempt to manipulate” the electoral outcome.
The main opposition coalition, known by its French acronym BRDC, boycotted the election, saying it was unlikely to be fair.
The government has denied the claims.
The Constitutional Court has until 20 January to rule on any challenges and declare the final results.
Since 2013, the landlocked country has been mired in conflict after rebels seized power, ousting then-President François Bozizé.
A 2019 peace deal between the government and 14 armed groups helped ease tensions, though six of the groups later withdrew from the agreement.
Analysts say Touadéra’s win could bolster interests of Russia, which has exchanged security assistance for access to resources such as gold and diamonds.
The CAR was one of the first African countries where Wagner, a Russian mercenary group, became active. The group has also been responsible for providing security to Touadéra.
More BBC stories about the Central African Republic:
[Getty Images/BBC]
Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.
BANGUI, Dec 25 (Reuters) – Central African Republic President Faustin-Archange Touadera is seeking a third term in an election on Sunday, campaigning on security gains after signing deals with rebel groups and enlisting support from Russian mercenaries and Rwandan forces.
He faces six opposition candidates including Anicet-Georges Dologuele, a former prime minister and runner-up in the 2020 election, but is likely to win in part due to his control over state institutions, analysts say.
Such a result would likely further the interests of Russia, which has traded security assistance for access to resources including gold and diamonds. Touadera is also offering access to the country’s lithium and uranium reserves to anyone interested.
The 68-year-old mathematician took power in 2016 after the worst crisis in the chronically unstable country’s history, when three years of intercommunal strife forced a fifth of the population to flee their homes, either internally or abroad.
Touadera has signed peace deals this year with several rebel groups, while others have been weakened in the face of Russian mercenaries and troops from Rwanda deployed to shore up Touadera’s government as well as U.N. peacekeepers.
“During the 10 years that we have been working together, you yourselves have seen that peace is beginning to return, starting from all our borders and reaching the capital,” Touadera told a rally at a stadium in the capital Bangui this month.
His opponents, meanwhile, have denounced a constitutional referendum in 2023 that scrapped the presidential term limit, saying it was proof Touadera wants to be president for life.
They have also accused him of failing to make significant progress towards lifting the 5.5 million population out of poverty.
“The administrative infrastructure has been destroyed and, as you know, the roads are in a very poor state of repair,” Dologuele told a recent press conference.
“In short, the Central African economy is in ruins.”
SECURITY THREATS REMAIN DESPITE PEACE DEALS
The presidential contest is taking place alongside legislative, regional and municipal elections, with provisional results expected to be announced by January 5.
If no candidate gets more than 50% of the vote, a presidential runoff will take place on February 15, while legislative runoffs will take place on April 5.
A smooth voting process could reinforce Touadera’s claim that stability is returning, which was buttressed last year with the U.N. Security Council’s lifting of an arms embargo and the lifting of a separate embargo on diamond exports.
“The fact that these measures were lifted, it shows that we’re gradually getting back to normal. Or at least that’s the narrative,” said Romain Esmenjaud, associate researcher at the Institut Francais de Geopolitique.
The peace deals are credited with a decline in violence in some areas and an expected boost in economic growth projections to 3% this year, according to the International Monetary Fund. U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has said the U.N. should hand security back to the government soon.
But serious security threats remain. Rebels have not fully disarmed, reintegration is incomplete, and incursions by combatants from neighbouring Sudan fuel insecurity in the east.
Pangea-Risk, a consultancy, wrote in a note to clients that the risk of unrest after the election was high as opponents were likely to challenge Touadera’s expected victory.
“The election will take place in an atmosphere marked by heightened grievances over political marginalization, increasing repression, and allegations of electoral fraud,” said chief executive Robert Besseling.
Dologuele alleged fraud after he was recorded as winning 21.6% of the vote in 2020, when rebel groups still threatened the capital and prevented voting at 800 polling stations across the country, or 14% of the total. A court upheld Touadera’s win.
Paul-Crescent Beninga, a political analyst, said voters will be closely scrutinising the voting and counting processes.
“If they do not go well, it gives those who promote violence an excuse to mobilise violence and sow panic among the population of the Central African Republic. So that is why we must ensure that the elections take place in relatively acceptable conditions,” he said.
(Reporting by Pacome Pabandji, Jessica Donati and Robbie Corey-Boulet; editing by Philippa Fletcher)
Huge crowd on a Saturday afternoon in Taksim, Beyoglu District of Istanbul.
Ayhan Altun | Moment | Getty Images
The world population is on course to peak earlier than expected this century as some of the world’s largest countries face declining birth rates, according to the United Nations.
The UN in 2022 had estimated the world population would peak at 10.4 billion by the 2080s.
“In some countries, the birth rate is now even lower than previously anticipated, and we are also seeing slightly faster declines in some high-fertility regions,” UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Li Junhua, said in a statement.
“The earlier and lower peak is a hopeful sign. This could mean reduced environmental pressures from human impacts due to lower aggregate consumption,” Li added.
Globally on average, women are having one child fewer than they did in 1990. In over half of all countries, the average number of live births per woman has fallen below 2.1, which marks the level required for a population to maintain a consistent size without migration. The UN cited that countries such as China, South Korea, Spain and Italy have “ultra-low” fertility rates.
As of 2024, the population has already peaked in 63 countries including China, Germany, Japan and Russia. The total population of these countries is stipulated to fall by 14% over the next 30 years.
However, in nine countries including Niger, Somalia, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo, “very rapid growth” is projected where total population of this group is set to double between 2024 and 2054.
For 126 countries including the United States, India, Indonesia, and Pakistan, population is expected to peak in the second half of the century or later.
Following the Central Bank of Nigeria’s reversal of the cryptocurrency transaction ban for banks, Yellow Card Exchange, a Pan-African crypto trading platform, is actively seeking licensing in the nation.
Yellow Card to expand operations in Nigeria
Yellow Card Exchange, driven by its mission to dominate the African market, is actively exploring strategies to capitalize on the first-mover advantage through the pursuit of licensing. While being a key player in Africa, delivering experiences akin to Jack Dorsey’s Cash App, Yellow Card has faced limitations in Nigeria due to regulatory uncertainties.
This scenario is set to shift, as affirmed by Ogochukwu Umeokafor, the exchange’s Director of Product Management. In a phone interview with Bloomberg, Ogochukwu stated:
“You’ve waited for something and it has come true, and we’ll jump on it immediately. We want a regulated environment because it’ll help the business move; it will help people have more confidence in doing business with us.”
Ogochukwu Umeokafor, Director of Product at Yellow Card
Yellow Card Exchange has initiated the approval process with the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). However, progress has reportedly been hindered as the company needed a functional corporate account, which was previously impossible under the CBN rule.
With the ban lifted, Nigerian commercial banks are now permitted to open accounts for Virtual Assets Service Providers (VASPs). Crypto traders can also operate without the fear of asset seizure, as was the norm before. Beyond Yellow Card Exchange, other trading platforms may enter the Nigerian market, capitalizing on the crypto-savvy population.
Nigeria’s financial landscape
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has become the first apex bank in Africa to introduce a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) called the e-Naira. The general acceptance of Bitcoin among the population has led to the involvement of various humanitarian projects in the West African country.
Launched in October 2021, Nigeria’s e-Naira serves as the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC). Unlike a distinct digital currency, it represents a digital version of the national currency, pegged at parity to the fiat naira. The e-Naira is subject to stringent access controls by the central bank, and while it isn’t a financial asset on its own, it functions as a digital form of the national currency.
The primary goals of the e=Naira include enhancing financial inclusion, reducing remittance transfer costs, and minimizing informality in the economy.
However, as of October 2022, its usage within the country has been limited. In response, the Nigerian government is seeking assistance to redesign and promote the e-Naira. Recognizing its potential in fostering financial inclusion, there’s a need for a strategic approach to define its relationship with traditional currency, considering whether it complements or substitutes it.
To encourage greater use of the CBDC, the Central Bank of Nigeria is adjusting the e-Naira model.
In Feb. 2021, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) imposed a ban on cryptocurrency transactions, citing worries about money laundering and terrorism financing. Nevertheless, on Dec. 22, 2023, the CBN lifted the ban and issued fresh guidelines for financial institutions to oversee crypto transactions.
These guidelines set forth minimum standards for establishing banking relationships with virtual assets service providers (VASPs), including crypto exchanges.
The CBN’s updated guidelines emphasized rigorous customer KYC and anti-money laundering checks. Despite the lift on the ban, banks are still prohibited from holding, trading, and transacting in virtual currencies.
The CBN’s decision aligns with a broader strategy to regulate the crypto industry in Nigeria, aiming to restore the country’s position as a significant hub for crypto trading in Africa. This move has garnered support from the local blockchain industry, urging the Nigerian federal government to implement comprehensive and amenable regulations.
Troops from Russia’s Wagner paramilitary group, who are relocating to Belarus following last month’s aborted mutiny, will not go back to fight in Ukraine and will stay in Belarus to train local troops, their leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said Wednesday.
“We did a lot for Russia. What is happening at the front now is a disgrace. We want no part of it,” Prigozhin said in his first appearance since his troops marched on Moscow in a failed uprising last month.
In a shaky mobile phone video shot at dusk, Prigozhin can be seen in silhouette wearing a baseball cap. He speaks to a crowd of men who appear to be Wagner fighters and break repeatedly into applause and cheers.
“Therefore we have taken the decision to be in Belarus for a while. In this time, we will turn the Belarusian army into the second most powerful in the world and, if needed, we will take its place,” Prigozhin pursued, in a jab at Russia, which currently has the second largest army in the world.
He then hinted his troops could later go to Africa, where Wagner has been active in Mali and the Central African Republic.
Prigozhin’s deputy, Dmitry Utkin, whose nom de guerre gave the mercenary army its name, speaks: “This is not the end. This is the beginning. The biggest task in the world will begin very soon,” he said before switching to English: “Welcome to hell.”
After months of tension with Russia’s military leadership, Prigozhin turned his troops against the Russian authorities last month. He led his men deep into Russian territory, taking the southwestern city of Rostov-on-Don and only stopping a few dozen kilometers from Moscow.
The mutinous warlord then went off the grid after he struck a deal with the Kremlin and Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko under which Wagner fighters would be spared prosecution in Russia, while he and his men would go in exile in Belarus.
He resurfaced a few days later, posting a voice message on social media to thank the supporters of the aborted uprising while signalling that Minsk had offered options for his troops to continue operating from Belarus.
Since then, there have been contradicting reports about Prigozhin’s whereabouts. Lukashenko initially confirmed Prigozhin had popped up in Belarus three days after the rebellion, on June 27, before later saying that he wasn’t actually there — and could even be in Russia.
Last week, the Kremlin said the Wagner boss was in Moscow on June 29, where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin together with other Wagner commanders.
All eyes are on Moscow — but no one knows what they’re looking at.
Are there more uprisings in the works? Will Vladimir Putin escalate his brutality in Ukraine to compensate? Are his nukes secure? Will everything somehow return to a tense, war-time status quo?
These types of questions have gripped conversations after a failed mutiny saw the Wagner Group’s mercenaries march within hours of Moscow before turning back.
While Putin and Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin continue to spin dueling narratives about the rebellion, one thing appears certain: the Russian leader’s veneer of invincibility has shattered.
That does not mean the end of the Putin regime is imminent. But a host of hard-to-imagine and even bizarre scenarios are now being teased out as everyone speculates over what comes next.
There are “more unknowns than knowns,” said a senior Central European diplomat, who like others was granted anonymity to discuss sensitive security matters.
POLITICO lays out a few of those knowns — and unknowns — about what will now unfold in the world’s largest country.
Putin’s next act: Repression? More war? Ousted?
Images of Wagner troops capturing a major military headquarters before marching toward Moscow with few consequences, only to turn around without even facing arrest, have prompted confused musings about what the strongman leader’s potential next move.
Often, it’s a crackdown.
“What I think naturally follows from this now is even more repression in Russia,” said Laurie Bristow, who served as British ambassador to Russia from 2016 until 2020.
That hasn’t yet happened, though. In fact, despite deriding the mutiny’s leaders as having betrayed Russia, Putin claims to be offering those involved a way out.
On Monday, he said Wagner soldiers would be free to join regular forces, go home or head to Belarus — heightening speculation that the Moscow regime’s once-dominant position of power is withering.
Putin said an armed mutiny by Wagner mercenaries was a “stab in the back” and that the group’s chief Yevgeny Prigozhin had betrayed Russia | Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP via Getty Image
One Eastern European diplomat said their assessment is that Prigozhin was “used by a particular group of the Kremlin/FSB elite dissatisfied with the current leadership” in the defense ministry. And, the diplomat added, Putin could still change the terms of his deal with the Wagner boss at any moment.
That has just created more speculation about what the coming months will entail.
Edgars Rinkēvičs, Latvia’s foreign minister and president-elect, listed a host of options, from “Putin trying to put more repression in place back home” to the Russian leader “trying to maybe launch some offensive in Ukraine, trying to show to his own public that he’s in full control.”
And while most experts believe Putin will hold on to power, for now, there is recognition that the West needs to consider a scenario where he is replaced. Powerful figures within Putin’s orbit and the FSB intelligence service are likely already eyeing the unfolding events — and Putin’s muddled response — to spot any opportunity.
“Chaos always carries risks, but there will come a time when the position of Putin is eroded and he is replaced,” said a Western European diplomat.
Speaking on Tuesday night alongside a group of European leaders, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte insisted NATO allies do not want instability.
“I refute what Putin suggested yesterday, that we in the West want Russia to descend into domestic chaos,” Rutte said. “On the contrary, instability in Russia creates instability in Europe. So we are concerned. These developments are further proof that Putin’s war has achieved nothing but more instability — above all, it has inflicted intolerable suffering on the Ukrainian people.”
John Lough, a Russia specialist at Chatham House, said he believed Putin is unlikely to still be in power a year from now.
How that process unfolds — via coup or planned succession — would, of course, influence who comes next.
Emily Ferris, a research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), a leading London-based security and foreign policy think tank, argued the next Russian leader will likely be “a placeholder that’s very similar to him — somebody that has the ear of the security services, has some sort of security background, is able to control the oligarchs.”
“The person that comes after that,” she added, “would be where the change comes from.”
Wagner’s next boss: Putin? Prigozhin? Belarus?
The mutinous Wagner Group is, remarkably, not dead yet. Who it’s working for, however, is unclear.
On Tuesday, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko confirmed that Prigozhin had arrived in his country, where the Wagner boss said he will be allowed to keep operating his paramilitary firm.
The pledge befuddled many — why would Putin let a rogue force operate next door under the guise of a charismatic, traitorous leader? What is Belarus getting out of this arrangement?
Sergei Guneyev/Sputnik via AFP/Getty Images
Officials in the region are anxiously eyeing the situation as they try to sort it out.
Minsk has long been a close Moscow ally, and even let Russia launch attacks on Ukraine from within its borders. Earlier this month, Putin also said he had stationed a first batch of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.
Now, some of the Wagner fighters are apparently heading there.
“We have to monitor very closely all the movements of Wagner Group,” Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur warned Tuesday when asked whether the arrival of Wagner personnel in Belarus poses a regional risk.
“It seems that there is much more to discover regarding the deal of Prigozhin and Lukashenka,” he said in a text message.
Asked about the presence of Wagner in Belarus, former U.S. Army Europe commanding general Ben Hodges said on Tuesday that this poses “not more risk for Ukraine … but potentially strengthens Lukashenko’s hand vs. his opposition and/or a future push by Russia.”
“I imagine,” Hodges added, “he’ll also look at this Wagner connection as a business opportunity for himself in Africa.”
Speaking in the Hague on Tuesday, Polish President Andrzej Duda said that Wagner’s presence in Belarus is “really serious and very concerning” and that in his view the move requires a “very tough answer of NATO.”
Wagner forces are already in several African countries, including Mali and the Central African Republic, helping prop up anti-Western governments in exchange for access to natural resources. And Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has vowed they will keep working there. But not everyone is convinced that work will always be for Moscow.
“Could Lukashenko be now smarter than Putin?” exclaimed a second Eastern European diplomat. “That would be the ultimate blow to Moscow!”
Moscow’s next chapter in Ukraine: Deflated troops? Fewer mercenaries? Dueling paramilitaries?
Officials are working through how Wagner’s failed mutiny will impact the battlefield in Ukraine — both in terms of how many Wagner members return to fighting in Ukraine and how their mutiny affects the regular Russian military’s thinking.
“One of the things that we should be watching very closely over the next few days is whether morale takes a dive in the Russian army,” said Bristow, the former British ambassador.
But, he added, “We should be very cautious not to think this means that Ukraine does not still face a long, hard fight.”
Rescuers work in a 24-storey building hit by Russian missiles in Kyiv | Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images
A senior Central European defense official underscored that if Wagner troops are no longer involved in Ukraine, it could change dynamics.
“Wagner Group was for many months the most effective fighting force on the Russian side in Ukraine,” the official said. “If the group is disbanded and will no longer be deployed in Ukraine, it will reduce Russia’s military offensive capacity.”
And it’s not all about Wagner: the weekend mutiny could also impact the calculus of oligarchs, companies and commanders within Russia who control their own armed groups.
Rinkēvičs, Latvia’s foreign minister and president-elect, underscored that there are multiple private military entities in Russia — and that even more could emerge amid Putin’s weakening position.
“It’s not only about regular army in Russia, not about FSB,” Rinkēvičs said in a phone interview, “but also how this situation can develop if more and more oligarchs, or private companies or people in power are going to form their own private, mercenary forces, everyone needs to take this seriously.”
The nukes’ next owner: The Russian state? A future mutineer?
Russia’s vast nuclear arsenal is one element that sets it apart from most other countries undergoing political tumult. Officials are more than happy to see Putin weakened — but they also want to see nuclear weapons in stable hands.
In fact, even at this frosty stage of the relationship with Moscow, Washington still appeared to be checking in with the Kremlin over the weekend about its nukes. Speaking on Monday, Lavrov said the American ambassador in Moscow had passed along a message “that the United States hopes that everything is fine with the nuclear weapons.”
But experts and officials say that they are confident nuclear weapons won’t fall into the wrong hands.
“It’s very hard to imagine a situation where the Russian state loses control of its nuclear arsenal,” said Bristow, the former British ambassador.
Others agree — but say that Russia’s nuclear arsenal could still play a role in a future power struggle.
“We’ve pretty good sight on what they do for security,” said William Alberque, a former director of NATO’s arms control center who now works at the International Institute for Strategic Studies and has in the past visited Russian nuclear sites.
“I have very high confidence that their nuclear weapons remain secure and under the command of the 12th GUMO,” he said, referring to a directorate of the Russian Ministry of Defense that manages Russia’s nuclear arsenal.
People near Rostow-on-Don greeted the Wagner group mercenaries with waves and open arms | Roman Romokhov/AFP via Getty Images)
But the 12th GUMO itself, Alberque said, could become a kingmaker in a future Russian game of thrones. Should Putin lose power, his successors may court the powerful directorate’s leadership — and whoever wins their backing would be in pole position to win a succession fight.
“If there were chaos in Moscow,” Alberque said, “if there was one or more pretenders, I think the smartest one would say, ‘I just talked to the commander of 12th GUMO.’”
As the war enters its 479th day, these are the main developments.
This is the situation as it stands on Saturday, June 17, 2023.
Fighting
The Commander of Ukraine’s ground forces, Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, said the situation in the east of the country remains “tense” and plans for the ongoing counteroffensive against Russian forces need to be adjusted. “Despite the advance of our troops in the south and the loss of territory and settlements in this direction, the enemy continues to move some of the most combat-capable units to the Bakhmut direction, combining these actions with powerful artillery fire and strikes by assault and army aircraft on the positions of our troops,” he said.
Russia’s defence ministry said its forces repelled numerous attempts by Ukrainian forces in their ongoing counterattacks over the last 24 hours and inflicted significant losses in the south Donetsk and Donetsk directions. More than 500 Ukrainian soldiers were killed and five tanks were destroyed, the ministry said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin again rejected reports of Ukrainian counteroffensive successes on the front lines in Ukraine, saying that at “no point have they achieved their goals”. He also said Ukraine will soon run out of its own military equipment and will be totally reliant on the West.
Ukraine will send several dozen combat pilots to train on US-made F-16 fighter jets, Ukrainian air force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said. NATO members the Netherlands and Denmark are leading efforts in an international coalition to train pilots and support staff, maintain aircraft and ultimately supply the F-16s.
Putin proclaimed the end of “neo-colonialism” in international politics and praised Russia’s economic strategy following its ruptured ties with the West. “The ugly neo-colonial system of international relations has ceased to exist, while the multi-polar global order is strengthening,” he said at an annual economic forum in Saint Petersburg.
Putin confirmed that Russia has sent nuclear arms to its ally Belarus. He also said that Russia could “theoretically” use nuclear weapons if there was a threat to its territorial integrity or existence.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called it “ironic” that Putin had placed Russian nuclear arms in Belarus when Putin justified his invasion of Ukraine as an action to prevent Kyiv from obtaining nuclear weapons.
The White House denounced the comments from Putin on the possible use of nuclear weapons, adding that the US had made no adjustments to its own nuclear posture in response to the rhetoric.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia is ready for further talks on nuclear arms control, the Interfax news agency reported.
A delegation of African leaders visited Kyiv on a peace mission where they called on Russia and Ukraine to de-escalate and negotiate. Shortly after their arrival, air raid sirens sounded across Ukraine as Russian missiles were detected. “The launching of the missiles today does not deter us and has not stopped us from continuing to call for de-escalation,” South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ruled out peace talks with Russia until a full withdrawal of Moscow’s forces from Ukraine.
United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan told Putin that his nation wished to strengthen ties with Russia. The Gulf state has not joined the West in placing sanctions on Moscow and has maintained what it says is a neutral position on the Ukraine war.
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said NATO allies may be ready to remove hurdles from Ukraine’s path to joining the NATO military alliance amid reports that the US is open to allowing Kyiv to forgo a formal candidacy process.
Turkey and Hungary must ratify Sweden’s NATO membership before the alliance meets at a summit in July, France said, adding that any further delays were not understandable and risked the security of the 31-member alliance.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also urged Turkey’s new defence minister to approve Sweden’s NATO membership.
Putin said there was a “serious danger” that NATO could be pulled further into the Ukraine conflict.
Canada said it would bolster its force in Latvia as part of NATO with the deployment of 15 Leopard 2A4M tanks.
Russia’s foreign ministry said it summoned the Australian ambassador after authorities in Australia cancelled the lease of a land plot where a new Russian embassy complex was being built in Canberra.
Humanitarian aid
The United Nations estimates an “extraordinary” 700,000 people require drinking water in eastern Ukraine following the collapse of the Kakhovka dam.
The US will provide an additional $205m in humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, Secretary of State Blinken said.
It is unlikely that Russia will quit the Black Sea grain deal before it comes up for renewal on July 17, Russian media reported. But Russian officials said they see no grounds to extend the agreement beyond that date. “How can you extend something that doesn’t work?” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
President Touadera has been accused of seeking tenure elongation despite constitutional limits of two four-year terms.
President Faustin-Archange Touadera has set July 30 as the date for a proposed referendum on a new constitution for the Central African Republic that would allow him to seek a new term in 2025.
“I have decided … to submit this project for a new constitution to a referendum,” the president said in an address to the nation, posted on Facebook, on Tuesday.
Touadera was elected in 2016 and was returned for a second term in 2020 despite widespread accusations of electoral flaws and an ongoing rebellion against his rule after years of civil war.
Currently, a president can serve only two four-year terms.
His allies proposed the rule change in May last year, arguing that presidential term limits were uncommon in many neighbouring countries. Critics and opposition parties held protests last year as the reform would allow Touadera to run again in 2025 for a third term.
The president installed a commission to draft the proposed changes in September. But the country’s top court ruled the committee unconstitutional and annulled it.
In January, Touadera removed the country’s top judge, Daniele Darlan, in what critics denounced as a “constitutional coup d’etat” for her opposition to the presidential decrees aimed at revising the constitution.
“There won’t be a third term, but the count will be set back to zero, so anyone can seek a new term, including Touadera if he wants,” the president’s main adviser, Fidele Gouandjika, told AFP news agency after the announcement.
Critics said Touadera was making a blatant power play.
“This new constitution will be written so that Touadera remains president for life,” said Nicolas Tiangaye, a former prime minister and opposition leader.
“What’s more, the Constitutional Court is illegitimate since the ouster of Darlan,” he said.
Touadera has also drawn fire from critics over the hiring of paramilitaries from the Russian Wagner Group in the conflicts between militias that hold sway over large tracts of territory and often clash over access to minerals and other resources.
In February, the Russian ambassador to CAR said 1,890 “Russian instructors” were present in the country.
The last remaining French troops were also forced to leave in December in the face of an increasingly assertive Russian presence, with Paris accusing CAR authorities of being complicit in an anti-French disinformation campaign allegedly fomented by Russia.
France, the former colonial power, had dispatched up to 1,600 soldiers to help stabilise the country after a coup in 2013 unleashed a civil war along sectarian lines.
Landlocked and mineral-rich but dirt-poor, the CAR has experienced few periods of stability since gaining independence from France in 1960.
French President Emmanuel Macron called on Monday for his country to build “a new, balanced relationship” with Africa, as the former colonial power seeks to reduce its military presence on the continent.
“The objective of this new era is to deploy our security presence in a partnership-based approach,” Macron said in a speech in Paris, ahead of a tour that will take him to Gabon, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Congo later this week.
In the future, French military bases on the continent will be “co-administered” with local personnel, the French president said, while there will be a “visible decrease” in the number of French troops stationed in Africa over the next few months.
The news comes as France has faced increasing opposition from local governments over its continued military presence in several of its former colonies, and was forced to withdraw hundreds of troops from Mali, the Central African Republic and Burkina Faso over the past year. Around 5,000 French soldiers remain stationed on various bases throughout the continent.
But Paris’ waning influence — particularly in the Sahel region — has also allowed Russia to expand its reach in Africa, including in the digital sphere through the use of disinformation campaigns, as well as on the ground with mercenaries from the Wagner group, who in some cases have replaced French soldiers.
The French president said his country would steer away from “anachronistic” power struggles in Africa, saying African countries should be considered as “partners,” both militarily and economically.
“Africa isn’t [anyone’s] backyard, even less so a continent where Europeans and French should dictate its framework for development,” Macron said.
