On Sunday January 22, French President Emmanuel Macron said he was waiting for "clarifications" from Burkina Faso on a possible request for the departure of French troops stationed in the country within a month.

Referring to "great confusion", he explained at a press conference in Paris that he wanted to wait for Burkina's transitional president Ibrahim Traoré "to be able to speak", calling for "to be very careful" on the subject.

A source close to the Burkinabè government told AFP on Saturday that Ouagadougou requested "the departure of French soldiers as soon as possible", confirming information from the Burkinabè Information Agency (AIB).

Sunday evening, this decision seemed to be confirmed by an official document sent to AFP.

In a letter from the Burkinabè Ministry of Foreign Affairs addressed to Paris and dated Wednesday, Ouagadougou “denounces and puts an end in its entirety to the agreement” of December 17, 2018 “relating to the status of the French armed forces intervening” in the Sahelian country.

Burkina currently hosts a contingent of nearly 400 French special forces, the Saber force.

"In view of the one-month notice period imposed by the said agreement in the event of denunciation, the Burkinabè Ministry of Foreign Affairs would appreciate that particular diligence be given to this upon receipt", specifies the document. 

The Burkinabè diplomatic source was unable to confirm on Sunday whether Paris had acknowledged receipt of this letter.

When questioned, the French presidency indicated that it was awaiting confirmation of the Burkinabé position at the "highest level".

The Russian Shadow

France, a former colonial power, has been contested in Burkina Faso for several months.

In December, the Burkinabè authorities had asked Paris to replace the French ambassador to Ouagadougou, Luc Hallade, in their crosshairs, in particular for having reported on the deterioration of the security situation in the country. 

Several demonstrations, the last Friday, also took place in Ouagadougou to demand in particular the withdrawal of French forces from the country.

On January 10, Paris sent Secretary of State Chrysoula Zacharopoulou to meet the transitional president there.

"France does not impose anything, it is available to invent a future together", she insisted, ensuring that she did not want to "influence any choice or any decision, no one can dictate their choices in Burkina".

Since coming to power in September following a putsch, the second in eight months, Captain Traoré and his government have shown their desire to diversify their partnerships, particularly in the fight against jihadism which has undermined this country since 2015. 

Among the new partners envisaged by Ouagadougou, the question of a possible rapprochement with Russia is regularly raised.

"Russia is a choice of reason in this dynamic", and "we believe that our partnership must be strengthened", underlined last week the Prime Minister of Burkina Faso Apollinaire Kyélem de Tembela, at the end of an interview with the Russian Ambassador Alexey Saltykov.

At the beginning of December, he had made a discreet visit to Moscow.

With AFP

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