The Indian Ocean, a brand new theater of rivalry between France and Russia | EUROtoday

HAS quietly, the south of the Indian Ocean has turn out to be one other area of confrontation between Russia and the West, specifically France, which has two of its abroad territories there: Reunion and Mayotte. Moscow, for its half, is much from having acquired a place corresponding to that occupied with the army juntas of the Sahel, the place its safety assist is mixed with stakes within the mining sector. However, its diplomacy strives to take advantage of the slightest breaches.

In Madagascar, the permeability of the brand new authorities to Russian affords is a take a look at. In mid-October, after a number of weeks of demonstrations led by Generation Z to denounce the incessant water and electrical energy cuts, the army introduced down the president, Andry Rajoelina, and took energy. Today there may be discuss of importing Russian hydrocarbons to alleviate the vitality disaster. “Russian aims are not new and they are not the only ones to covet the country, but a step has been taken with this rapprochement”admits a Western diplomat.

In 2018, Russia had already tried to affect the electoral course of by financing the campaigns of a number of candidates to whom males from the Wagner paramilitary group had served as advisors. In August of the identical yr, underneath the presidency of Hery Rajaonarimampianina (2014-2018), a mining settlement was sealed between Kraoma, the general public chrome mining firm, and the Russian Ferrum Mining, not directly owned by Evgueni Prigojine, the previous supervisor of Wagner, who died in 2023. The venture resulted in failure and the Russians withdrew on the finish of 2019.

“Destabilizing influence”

2018 additionally noticed the reactivation of army cooperation launched in the course of the Cold War, in the course of the socialist interval of President Didier Ratsiraka (1975-1993). Cooperation confirmed in 2022, the day after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

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