Republic of Congo president holds talks with his Russian counterpart

By Rédaction Africanews with agencies

Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with Denis Sassou N’Guesso, President of the Republic of Republic of the Congo, at the Kremlin on Wednesday.

Putin said Russia sees “promising” opportunities for the development of bilateral relations between the two countries, primarily in the economic sphere.

“These include geological exploration, energy, logistics, agriculture, and several other areas,” he said.

Congratulating Sassou N’Guesso on winning a fifth term in office last month, the Russian president said the stable political situation in the Congo created “good business prospects”.

The 82-year-old faced a weak field of challengers, ‌with two of the country’s best‑known opposition leaders in prison and others in exile.

Several opposition parties boycotted the election, won by Sassou N’Guesso with almost 95 per cent of the vote, saying the process lacked credibility.

The Congolese president, for his part, told Putin that “all the conditions” were in place for successfully implementing joint projects.

“As you said, the relations of friendship, solidarity, and cooperation in all the fields including security, defence, and economy” have been in place for decades, he said.

Putin also praised cooperation with the Republic of the Congo on the international stage and invited Sassou N’Guesso to the third Russia-Africa Forum, expected to take place later this year.