The President of South Sudan said that he sees no alternatives to friendship with Russia

During negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, South Sudanese President Salva Kiir said that he sees no alternative to friendship with Russia, transmits Kremlin press service.

“The situation in the world shows that no one can survive or succeed alone, and our country is no exception. We are the youngest nation on the planet. We need to have strong and influential friends, one of which is you. We do not see any alternatives to friendship with you,” Kiir said.

The President of South Sudan noted that he could not say that there is a serious foundation in relations between the two countries, but thanked Putin for the invitation.

During the talks, Putin clarified that relations with South Sudan are developing “very intensively,” but much remains to be done. In 2022, there was a decline in trade turnover, but already this year it gave way to growth, the Russian leader added. The construction of a refinery by a Russian company in South Sudan will also benefit relations.

“Of course, we are aware that further progressive development is connected with ensuring security, with the resolution of all those problems and difficulties that you have inherited from earlier times, so we will do everything to support you in this area as well.” , Putin said.

Kiir arrived in Moscow the day before. The Kremlin previously reported that the leaders of the countries would discuss the prospects for the development of Russian-South Sudanese relations in various areas. In addition, they will touch upon issues of regional and international agendas.

This is the second visit of the President of South Sudan to Russia. The previous time Kiir was in Russia was in 2019 at the first Russia-Africa summit in Sochi and met with Putin. During the negotiations, Kiir noted with regret that there were no contacts after that.