| Rooters reported earlier that Russian troops and contractors were on assignments in Egypt, Libya and Sudan, though only in the case of Sudan did Russian officials acknowledge the Russian presence. |
Congo borders Central African Republic (CAR), where Moscow has a U.N.-approved mission, and will become one of the few African countries with an officially confirmed presence of Russian military personnel on the ground.
In recent years Moscow has pushed for influence on the continent - where China has a major economic presence - by signing military cooperation deals with around 20 African countries.
Peskov, in a conference call with news hounds, disregarded questions on how many military specialists Russia will send to Congo Republic and whether they are regular soldiers or private contractors working for the Russian government.
He said they are expected to service military hardware and munitions that had been supplied earlier.
"Much of this hardware can be still used if there is proper maintenance and these people, who are sent there, will service the munitions," Peskov said.
The military deal was signed on Thursday after talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin
...President-for-Life of Russia. He gets along well with other presidents for life. He is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substance. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to him. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substances...and his Congolese counterpart Denis Sassou Nguesso in the Kremlin.
Russia has donated hundreds of weapons and sent more than 200 trainers to Central African Republic earlier this year to bolster the government’s fight against militia groups after receiving an exemption from a United Nations
...an organization conceived in the belief that we're just one big happy world, with the sort of results you'd expect from such nonsense...
arms embargo.
Rooters reported earlier that Russian troops and contractors were on assignments in Egypt, Libya and Sudan, though only in the case of Sudan did Russian officials acknowledge the Russian presence.