Russia’s proposed security accord with Ecowas would extend its reach beyond the juntas and expose divisions over regional security
Having armed the military regimes that broke with the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), Moscow is now courting the organisation they left behind. Russia wants to widen its regional role just as Ecowas and the Alliance des États du Sahel (AES), which includes the juntas in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, begin negotiating a new relationship. For the coastal governments in Ecowas the calculus is practical. Attempts to isolate the juntas has failed to contain the Sahel’s insecurity.
