MINUSCA Chief Welcomes Russia's Support Of CAR Defense, Security Forces Reform

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MINUSCA Chief Welcomes Russia's Support of CAR Defense, Security Forces Reform

The UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) welcomes Russia's efforts to help normalize the situation in the CAR, and Moscow's contribution to support the reform of the country's defense and security forces, MINUSCA head Parfait Onanga-Anyanga told Sputnik.

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th November, 2018) The UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) welcomes Russia's efforts to help normalize the situation in the CAR, and Moscow's contribution to support the reform of the country's defense and security forces, MINUSCA head Parfait Onanga-Anyanga told Sputnik.

"The delegate of the Russian Federation was present there [at the September 27 meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly], has also reaffirmed this engagement. I think that it's a very good thing, and we expect that soon there will be a face-to-face dialogue between the government and the armed groups. So this is the help that is appreciated. Moreover, clearly, the contribution in support of the reform of the defense and security forces of the Central African Republic ... So all these efforts are much appreciated and we welcome them," Onanga-Anyanga, who serves as the UN Special Representative for the CAR, said.

The ongoing initiatives will help the African state "to restore its authority in the global context, with the accent on the political resolution, because there will be no military solution" for the CAR, the head of MINUSCA said.

"I want to once again point out that it's vital: we need all the states that have influence, Russia being one of such as a permanent member of the UN Security Council [UNSC], that have the capacity to influence things in a good way, by working together with the other members of the UNSC, [which] creates all the ingredients to succeed in the CAR.

If we do it together, in the spirit of solidarity, I think we have all the chances to win peace in this country," Onanga-Anyanga said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in late October it intended to keep helping the Central African Republic in rebuilding its national armed forces. The ministry said that, in early 2018, Moscow supplied the car army with a batch of small arms and ammunition while sending 175 military advisers to train CAR servicemen. The ministry added that Moscow would send 60 more military advisers and a second batch of military supplies to the African country, and stressed that all such assistance programs were being carried out in compliance with the UNSC sanctions regime.

The CAR has been destabilized for years by the conflict involving the mainly Muslim armed group Seleka, Christian Anti-balaka militias and the government. In late August, ex-Seleka and Anti-balaka signed a declaration of understanding after a Russia-brokered peace meeting in Khartoum.

The Russia-mediated talks in Khartoum ran parallel to those in the CAR town of Bouar, held under the aegis of the African Union. The African Union said in October it would welcome any external support for the peace process in the CAR as long as it complied with the organization's adopted initiative for peace and reconciliation and was coordinated with African nations.