#GuineaBissau special forces to be trained in #Chechnya
The Portuguese-speaking country has a security agreement with #Russia since 2019. The decision was taken as Guinea-Bissau's president Umaro Sissoco Embaló visited Moscow and Grozny. In Moscow, he stated his country was Russia's "permanent ally" and "reliable partner".
This should not be taken at face value however. Like recently in the case of #SãoTomé, smaller, weakened African countries, faced with inner and outside threats to their security and other concerns, this rapprochement only signifies that #GuineaBissau is trying its hand at multivectorial diplomacy, trying to gain leverage vis-à-vis other partners. It could, naturally, step into Putin's orbit willingly. There is a will both in Bissau and Moscow for ties to strengthen.
But the ball is now in the West's (and particularly #Portugal's) court to address #GuineaBissau's concerns and agency. Embaló visited Kyiv in October 2022. In a similar way to his current praise of all the support received from the USSR, he then underlined quite close historical relations. He expressed his shock by Russian aggression and its visible consequences. He also called #Ukraine a "strategic partner".
Mathieu Gotteland