Russia’s foreign minister has pledged more support to Burkina Faso in fighting militant groups as he presses his whirlwind tour of West Africa in an attempt to fill a vacuum left by the region’s traditional Western partners.

Russia’s foreign minister on Wednesday pledged more support to Burkina Faso in fighting militant groups as he pressed his whirlwind tour of West Africa in an attempt to fill a vacuum left by the region’s traditional Western partners.

Sergey Lavrov spoke at a news conference in the country’s capital of Ouagadougou while on the third leg of his latest Africa trip, after Guinea and the Republic of Congo.

Russia is seeking to shore up support from the region amid Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. A number of African countries in recent years have expressed growing frustration with their traditional Western partners such as France and the United States.

“Russian instructors have been working here and their number will increase,” Lavrov said, adding that Russia has been helping train Burkina Faso’s military and law enforcement personnel. “We have supplied and will continue to supply military equipment to help strengthen Burkina Faso’s defense capability and allow it to eliminate the remaining terrorist groups.”

Lavrov said he appreciated the “objective and fair” position of Burkina Faso on the war in Ukraine. “For our part, we are ready to provide our support for the just cause of Africans who are trying to free themselves from neo-colonial influence.”

Burkina Faso, a landlocked nation of 20 million, has been ravaged in the past eight years by violence from extremist groups loosely affiliated with al-Qaida and the Islamic State group, and from the fighting between government forces and the militants.