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 currently training local troops, does not qualify as a military base, Koyara argued, even though “people have already started seeing it as exactly this.”
Meduza: Russia might open a military base in the Central African Republic
New recruits for the Central African Armed Forces (FACA) perform a drill during a medal presentation demonstration in Berengo on August 4, 2018. - Russian military consultants have set up training for the Central African Armed Forces and the Internal Security Forces after delivering weapons to the country. Already trained by the European program (EUTM), the soldiers are trained in the handling of weapons by the Russian consultants.
