Russia and UN Hold Sahel Talks in Lomé as Togo Presents New Regional Strategy

On April 15, on the sidelines of Togo's high-level presentation of its 'New Strategy for the Sahel' in Lomé, Russian Foreign Ministry Director Tatyana Dovgalenko (Department for Partnership with Africa) met with the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for the Sahel. The two sides exchanged views on the security and humanitarian situation across Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, and discussed prospects for building trust between ECOWAS and the Alliance of Sahel States (AES). Russia's diplomatic engagement at the Lomé event signals its intent to shape multilateral framing of the Sahel crisis amid the AES states' break from French and Western security frameworks. Togo's President Gnassingbé — who has served as a key regional mediator between the AES juntas and ECOWAS — has pursued an independent diplomatic track, engaging both the AES governments and Gulf donors, in contrast to hardline ECOWAS sanctioning approaches. The meeting follows the AES bloc's formal establishment of a unified military command in December 2025 and Niger's April 2026 agreement signing of 20+ cooperation agreements with Algeria.