The head of Russian diplomacy, Sergei Lavrov went to Algiers for a working visit. He was received there in turn by the head of Algerian diplomacy, Ramtane Lamamre, then by the President of the Republic in person Abdelmadjid Tebboune. Lavrov took the opportunity to announce Tebboune’s invitation to Moscow by Vladimir Putin.
Sergei Lavrov will have spent two days on Algerian soil. Algeria, which is now positioning itself as a strong ally for Russia, with its massive export of gas. At a time when Europe is making sweet eyes at Algeria to limit its dependence on Russian gas.
Arrived at the end of the morning of Monday May 9, it was not until Tuesday May 10 that the Russian Minister of Foreign Relations had a meeting with his Algerian counterpart. Then, on the same day, he was received by the Algerian Head of State. Since January 2019, the head of Russian diplomacy had not been to Algiers. A timely visit. Indeed, the two countries are celebrating the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between them.
Commenting on his visit to Algeria, Sergei Lavrov said: “We supported the initiative of our Algerian friends aimed at developing a new interstate strategic document which will reflect the new quality of the bilateral partnership”. Continuing his remarks, he adds in these terms: “Our political dialogue is developing actively, as are economic, military and technical cooperation, and humanitarian and cultural ties”.
Earlier in the year, precisely on April 4, Ramtane Lamamra went to Moscow as part of a mediation for the resolution of the crisis between Russia and Ukraine. He was accompanied on this journey by a delegation of foreign ministers from Egypt, Sudan, Iraq and Jordan. But also of the secretary general of the Arab League. They were welcomed there by Sergei Lavrov and Nikolai Patrushev, head of the Russian Security Council.
During this solemn visit, the Russian visitor announced that Vladimir Putin invites Abdelmadjid Tebboune for an official visit to Russia. This after the official Russian news agency TASS revealed a telephone conversation between the two heads of state on April 18. In this phone call, it was a question of discussing the coordination within the organization of the petroleum exporting countries (OPEC), but also the conflicting situation which prevails in Ukraine.
At the height of the war between Russia and Ukraine, several European countries to maintain sanctions against Russia turned to Algeria and its gas to reduce their dependence on Russian gas. But the Algerian production is still weak to satisfy all these beautiful people and its capacities are very limited to be able to increase its production. Indeed, Algeria supplies only 11% of the gas consumed in Europe against 47% for Russia. Algeria being an ally of Russia, Vladimir could use it to hurt European countries a little more.
Since the war of independence, Algiers and Moscow have maintained strong political relations. Over time, cooperation has expanded and has also become military with a section on intelligence. By way of illustration, Algeria is one of the main buyers of Russian arms in the world. During the period 2016-2020, Algeria accounted for 46% of Russian arms exports to Africa.
