Completely severed its relationship with France: Senegal’s alienation from the West and rapprochement with Russia | policy

Senegal wants to consolidate its diplomatic relationship with Russia, which is trying to achieve its geopolitical goals of countering Western influence in the region. In this context, the Minister of African Integration and Foreign Affairs of Senegal visited the Russian capital in August 2024, and the mayor of the Senegalese city of Ittias had previously received funding from the Russian governor of Sevastopol after his visit to Russia in July 2024. This is happening at a time when Russia is suffering from alienation. Diplomatically from Western countries, Senegal is trying – at the same time – to arrange its diplomatic papers to strengthen its relationship with countries hostile to Russia.
The article presents the balancing mechanisms of Senegal’s foreign policy towards countries hostile to Russian influence policies in the West African region. It also addresses the challenges of the current stage for Senegal. It also indicates the extent of Senegal’s ability to remain diplomatic in light of the escalating crisis between Mali and Ukraine on the one hand and between the “ACE” and “” countries. ECOWAS, on the other hand, does Senegal adopt the option of a Russian-Senegalese rapprochement in order to achieve African and international integration by strengthening the Russian presence in the region?

Diplomatic relations between Russia and Senegal

Senegal has long-standing diplomatic relations with Russia, and the depth of relations between the two countries is evident in high-level meetings, such as President Putin’s meeting with the former Senegalese president in 2023, where he stressed the importance of Senegal as a reliable partner in Africa, in addition to Senegal taking a neutral position at the United Nations regarding the conflict. between Russia and Ukraine, and chose to abstain from voting in two consecutive votes in favor of Russia, which was living in diplomatic isolation.

The new Senegalese leadership maintained this relationship by receiving, in July 2024, the President of the Republic, Basserou Diomai Faye, Mikhail Bogdanov, the special envoy of the President of the Russian Federation in the Middle East and Africa, carrying a message from President Putin addressed to his Senegalese counterpart for cooperation between the two countries. This was followed by the visit of the Minister of African Integration and Foreign Affairs to Senegal, Ms. Yacine Fall, who met with her Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, in Moscow on August 29, 2024. The visit aimed to strengthen the partnership and advance economic cooperation between the two countries.
Recently, Russia has been working on diplomatic engagement with Senegal, which led to the mayor of the Senegalese city of Atias, Babakar Job, signing a partnership agreement with the Russian governor of Sevastopol, where he resided in his state for (8) days in the month of July 2024, in response to an invitation. Russian authorities to sign a partnership agreement between the two cities. Job confirmed that he had obtained funding for his city in the amount of more than one billion African francs. A Russian delegation is expected to arrive in Attias before the end of 2024. For general preparation for the implementation of specific projects. These efforts confirm that Senegal maintains its diplomatic relations with Russia.

Senegal’s foreign policy and balancing mechanisms

Senegalese foreign policy presents distinctive models of diplomatic interactions; However, the critical political positions of countries towards their counterparts require political acumen to deal with them, and Russia’s situation in the regional and international situation calls for the activation of diplomatic balance mechanisms towards countries hostile to its policies of influence in Africa. Because there are some risks of the retroactive impact of the Russian-Ukrainian war on Senegal’s relations with Western powers and neighboring countries, especially the friendly country of Mali.

Signs of Senegal’s diplomatic confusion appeared when the Republic of Mali announced its decision to sever diplomatic relations with Ukraine, accusing Kiev of practicing “discriminatory aggression” on its territory. Following a video clip published by the diplomatic representation of Ukraine in Senegal, which led to the summoning of the Ukrainian ambassador to Senegal to the Senegalese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in August 2024.

Senegal attaches great importance to its relationship with neighboring Mali. It also works to remain neutral by not interfering in the Ukrainian-Russian crisis, and seeks to achieve diplomatic balance in light of the Russian incursion into Mali. To avoid any negative impact on its foreign policy with Ukraine and Western countries. Senegal suffers from negative diplomatic aggression between friendly countries, which means activating mechanisms to balance foreign policy through:

Dialogue mechanism:

The dialogue enables the Senegalese Foreign Ministry to strengthen its diplomatic relations with various parties. The Senegalese Foreign Ministry’s dialogue with the Ukrainian Embassy in the Mali issue has escaped a diplomatic slide, and it needs to be activated intensively in the Russian situation. In order to be able to preserve its interests with countries hostile to Russia.

Neutrality Mechanism:

Neutrality is an essential element in Senegal’s diplomacy, as is evident in its abstention from voting at the United Nations on suspending Russia’s membership in the Human Rights Council on April 7, 2022. Neutrality contributes to reducing diplomatic error, in addition to achieving balance in dealings.

Mechanism for prioritizing interest:

The strong interests that bind Senegal to various countries force it to give precedence to its interests in thorny diplomatic issues in order to maintain regional stability.

Risk response mechanism:

Moscow aims to increase its geopolitical influence to confront the influence of Western powers in the region, and in this case, confronting risks comes as an effective mechanism in arranging diplomatic agreements in a way that serves the state’s interest with various international partnerships.

The Russian-Senegalese rapprochement and the challenges of this stage

Russia is trying to get closer to Senegal due to its strategic location and economic diversity, in addition to the regional and international role it plays in confronting security challenges, which Russia can benefit from to establish alliances outside its traditional regions. In contrast, Senegal is investing in its political stability as an effective interlocutor with Russia in an increasingly complex global geopolitical context, enabling it to achieve its strategic goals.

The following are the most important elements of the Russian-Senegalese rapprochement:

First: The military cooperation element:

Military cooperation between Russia and Senegal has gained great importance, and is considered a major gateway to rapprochement between the two countries. The signing of the military cooperation agreement between the two countries in 2018 represents a step to strengthen defense relations. The Senegalese decision was proactive about what might happen in the geopolitical future of the region, including the intensification of the conflict there between the major powers.

Second: The economic cooperation element:

Russia found in Senegal a strategic place for economic insurance in various sectors, which made it an attractive destination for Russian investments. In this regard, the Russian-African Chamber of Commerce and Investment was opened in Senegal in July 2024.

Regional and international challenges

• International challenge: Russia’s interest in Senegal has raised questions about the motives of this growing diplomatic relationship, which could have negative repercussions at the international level in light of the diplomatic isolation that Russia is experiencing.
• Regional challenge: Mali decided to deepen its partnership with Russia after severing its relationship with France, which poses a diplomatic challenge for Senegal in maintaining its relations with France, Mali and Russia simultaneously.

In conclusion, it is clear that the Russian-Senegalese rapprochement reflects a delicate balance in international relations, as Senegal seeks to strengthen its position by diversifying its partnerships, while ensuring the independence of its political and economic decisions in light of the increasing global challenges.