Algeria and Russia on Wednesday began their first joint military exercises on Algerian soil amid Western concerns over Moscow’s deepening ties with the North African nation that is a key energy supplier for Europe.
The Desert Shield anti-terrorism training began in the sparsely populated Bechar Province, near Algeria’s border with long-time rival Morocco, the Russian state news service Sputnik reported.
An OPEC member on the Mediterranean, Algeria has been thrust into the limelight of international diplomacy this year as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sends Europe scouring the region for replacement natural gas and oil. French, Spanish and Italian leaders have visited Algiers several times this year to secure or boost shipments.
Photo: AFP
However, as Algeria bolsters its links with Europe it is also intensifying cooperation with Russia. About 80 soldiers from each country are participating in the drills that are to last until Nov. 28. It follows similar training in Russia last year and comes a month after joint naval maneuvers in the Mediterranean.
Algeria sells the vast bulk of its oil and gas to Europe, and before the war was its biggest supplier after Russia and Norway. At the same time, Russia is Algeria’s biggest arms supplier, with defense ties that go back to the era of the Soviet Union.
The Arab nation gets close to 80 percent of its weapons imports from Russia and is the third-biggest buyer of such arms after India and China, according to the Moscow-based Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, which conducts research on the defense industry.
Algeria is considering signing a new long-term arms deal with Russia worth as much as US$17 billion for the purchase of submarines, Su-57 stealth fighters and other warplanes and advanced air-defense systems including the S-400, Russian state channel RT reported on Oct. 31.
The 10-year contract might be finalized during a visit to Moscow next month by Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, it said, citing Africa Intelligence, a newsletter published from Paris.
The current tensions “are only pushing us closer together,” said Elena Suponina, a Moscow-based Middle East expert, referring to Algeria and Russia. “Algeria is refusing to adopt an anti-Russian stance.”
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