African state’s military to train in Chechnya – Kadyrov

Guinea-Bissau President Oumarou Sissokou Embalo has requested that soldiers from the West African country receive training at the Russian University of Special Forces (RUS) in Chechnya, the head of the republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, announced on Saturday.

The request was made during a meeting between Kadyrov and Embalo, who arrived in Grozny, the Chechen capital, on Friday as part of a working visit to Russia.

“We discussed possible areas of mutually beneficial cooperation and the development of friendly relations,” the Chechen leader said in a statement posted to his Telegram channel.

“He [Embalo] expressed readiness for possible interaction in various fields, as well as strengthening fraternal relations between Guinea-Bissau and the subject of the Russian Federation – the Chechen Republic,” Kadyrov added.

Prior to his trip to Grozny, the Bissau-Guinean leader held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin after attending the May 9 Victory Day Parade in Moscow.

During the meeting, Putin announced Moscow’s readiness to offer a “bigger quota” for more students from Guinea-Bissau to study in Russia, according to a Kremlin press release.

“Russia and Guinea-Bissau have demonstrated solidarity when dealing with many urgent matters on the global agenda and share close positions on the emergence of a multipolar world order and security matters. I do hope that we will continue these contacts on essential issues,” Putin stated.

In response, Embalo stated that Guinea-Bissau would remain a “reliable partner” for Moscow.

“We are good allies now, and we hope to remain good allies in the future,” he added.

Moscow and Bissau have had diplomatic relations for over 50 years, dating back to 1974, when the former Soviet Union assisted the African state in gaining independence from Portugal.

Andrey Maslov, director of the Center for African Studies at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow, told RT on Monday that the majority of Guinea-Bissau’s military and security services leaders received training in the USSR and Russia.

“The country faces challenges which have to be dealt by well-trained special forces. These are first of all piracy and drug trafficking, the country has no outside enemies, it’s maintaining friendly relations with its neighbors,” he said.