Sochi (Russia) (AFP)

Central African President Faustin-Archange Touadéra on Wednesday urged his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to strengthen Russian military aid to the Central African Republic, including deliveries of "heavier weapons."

"Russia is providing tremendous help to the Central African Republic," said Touadera, during a meeting with Putin during the first Russia-Africa summit in Sochi, a Russian seaside resort on the shores of the Black Sea.

The Russians, who provide training for Central African soldiers and gendarmes and help the country modernize its armed forces, have recently delivered a "second tranche of arms" to the Central African Republic, thus enabling it to cover "all its small arms ", according to the Central African president.

"But heavier weapons are needed to create effective forces," he said.

"We believe that the Russian partners will also deliver lethal means (...), combat vehicles, mortars and other pieces of artillery, allowing us to boost our defense and security forces. ", said Mr. Touadéra.

Since the beginning of a civil war in 2013 in the Central African Republic, the arms embargo was total for the country even though it has benefited since 2017 from some exemptions granted by the UN, notably to Russia and France, to equip units of the Central African army in the process of reconstitution.

On 14 September, the embargo was sharply eased, with the UN Security Council unanimously voting to allow the delivery of weapons with a caliber of 14.5 mm or less to the Central African forces.

According to Touadéra, the armed groups active in the Central African Republic "receive heavy weapons illegally, bypassing the embargo".

"This is why we can not regain control over the whole territory of the country," he lamented, calling for Russia's "intervention" to lift the UN embargo. .

For his part, Vladimir Putin described the Central African Republic as a "promising partner".

The Central African Republic, one of the continent's poorest countries, has been ravaged by a civil war since Séléka, a coalition of armed groups, overthrew President François Bozizé's regime in 2013.

On February 6, 2019, the government and 14 armed groups signed a peace agreement, supposed to put an end to fighting between rebels and loyalist forces but also between these rival armed groups, which control 70% of the territory.

The two leaders also spoke about the ongoing investigation into the murder of three Russian journalists - war reporter Orkhan Djemal, documentary filmmaker Alexander Rastorguyev and cameraman Kirill Radchenko - in the Central African Republic in July 2018, the Kremlin spokesman said. , Dmitry Peskov, quoted by Russian news agencies.

Messrs. Putin and Touadera stressed the "commitment of both countries to continue the investigation to find the culprits," he said.

According to an investigation by MBK Media, an organization of ex-oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the three murdered journalists were investigating the presence of Russian mercenaries in the Central African Republic.

© 2019 AFP