Putin is invited to visit the Central African Republic by its re-elected president, according to TASS

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been invited by Faustin-Archange Touadera, the recently re-elected president of the Central African Republic, to visit his nation, according to a report published on Wednesday by the Russian state news agency TASS.

With CAR being the first country in West and Central Africa to hire Russian Wagner mercenaries in 2018 as the long-stretched country attempted to repel multiple rebel factions, Moscow has emerged as a crucial friend of Touadera in recent years.

With an overwhelming majority in the presidential election held on December 28, Touadera, who has been in power since 2016, secured a third term in office, according to preliminary results released this week.

The Kremlin head was “very attentive” to relations with Bangui, according to Touadera, who referred to Putin as a “great leader” in a video interview with TASS.

The Wagner Group stated on its Telegram channel, “We have no doubt that the chosen course of maintaining order and peace will prevail,” in response to preliminary election results that showed Touadera leading.

Russia’s interests in the nation, particularly in gold and diamond mining, are probably going to be furthered by Touadera’s triumph.