Media Wire Express Correspondent
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday met Chadian leader Mahamat Idriss Deby in the Kremlin.
In brief televised comments, Putin said Russia was pleased that Deby had stabilised the situation in the country, and was ready to help in any way.
Putin said that the two countries had “great opportunities to develop our bilateral ties”, and that Moscow would double the quota for Chadian students studying at Russian universities.
Deby on his part hailed ties with Russia. “I came here from a friendly country, a brother country, a sovereign country that wants to reinforce relations with a friendly country,” He said he hoped the meeting would “benefit both of our peoples.”
Idriss Deby also used the opportunity to offer his condolences to Putin, following a military plane crash earlier on Wednesday in the Belgorod region of Russia near Ukraine.
The plane was carrying 74 people on board, including 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war due to be swapped. All were killed, according to the governor of the Belgorod region Vyacheslav Gladkov.
“I would like, on my own behalf and on behalf of the people, to express my sincere condolences for these deaths and those of the soldiers,” said Deby.
Deby has led Chad since 2021, when he took power in a coup, following the death of his father, long-serving president Idriss Deby.
While Chad has been seen to be a last bastion of French influence in the region, against a trend of growing Russian influence, the meeting in Moscow is a sign that Putin may be moving to build ties with the Sahelian country.
The meeting comes a week after Niger’s prime minister visited Moscow, resulting in an agreement to develop military ties.
