Russia's Question: Can Alliance of Sahel States Normalise Relations with ECOWAS?
By Kester Kenn Klomegah, Moscow Bureau Chief, The Diplomatic Society

24 August 2026
Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, and Ghana's Foreign Minister, Samuel O. Ablakwa in August in Moscow, after an intensive strategic consultation aimed at raising bilateral relations from vision to commitment, have agreed on measures for normalising relations between the Confederation of Sahel States (AES) and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The three Francophone West African States have been facing serious security and development issues, and desperately turned for military-technical assistance from Moscow, after breaking with France and other Western allies.











