Having held important government and diplomatic positions since the 1970s, Algeria’s Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf has been around the block. Now, at the age of 70 and still at the heart of power in Algiers, he knows when it is safe to say something. He evidently judged it safe to say that Algeria and Russia had spoken about concerns in Algiers about the Russian paramilitary mercenary group Wagner, which remains active in the Sahel, to Algeria’s south, and in Libya, to Algeria’s east.
Although Algeria buys three-quarters of its weapons from Russia, it is steadfast in its commitment to non-alignment, hence its continued refusal to let the Russians use its Mers-el-Kébir naval base. Algeria and Russia have a longstanding and deep relationship underpinned by arms sales. Algeria has one of Africa’s biggest militaries, with advanced Russian technology, including stealth fighter jets and modern air defence systems.
Between 2016 and 2020, Algeria spent $4.2bn on Russian arms. In 2021, after Algeria’s Chief of Staff visited Moscow, it was reported that Algiers would spend $7bn more, including on Sukhoi 57 and Sukhoi 34 aircraft. This led to calls in the US to impose sanctions. It makes Algeria Russia’s third biggest defence client, after India and China. Moscow wants to keep its best customers happy, so it will listen to Algiers' objections to the presence of Wagner fighters near its borders.
Russia in Africa
Putin described Algeria as “friendly” at the Valdai Discussion Club, an international forum, at its recent meeting in Sochi, yet the North African country is worried. It borders seven countries, including several where there has been a recent coup d’etat. In recent years, Moscow has worked to establish special military forces in the heart of the African continent, in part to counter US and European influence there. Media reports suggest that 50,000 trained soldiers could be involved.
More broadly, Algeria objects to any foreign intervention in the Sahel-Saharan region, even under the pretext of fighting terrorism, arguing that all recent examples have been a dismal failure since terrorism remains rife.
The argument is made by senior Algerian figures, including Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Said Chengriha, and will likely have been made in Moscow in June 2023 by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune when he met Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Still, it is unusual for someone like Attaf to disclose private conversations between two countries, telling the media that he personally addressed the matter with his Kremlin counterpart, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Attaf also revealed that the two countries had agreed to set up a joint mechanism involving diplomats and security personnel to monitor the situation.
It is to be jointly headed by Algeria’s Lounes Magramane, the secretary-general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Russia’s Mikhail Bogdanov, deputy minister of Foreign Affairs and Putin's personal envoy. The committee, which is expected to meet soon, will focus on the Wagner Group’s presence in the region. The Algerians think Wagner’s presence may be a threat to stability and development in the Sahel, so they are being proactive.
Reading between the lines
Nour Al-Sabah Aknoush, a professor of political science and international relations at the University of Biskra, said Algeria pressing Moscow over Wagner should be seen in a wider context, as it seeks to guard against hostile foreign parties. International powers are intensifying their struggle for influence in the Sahel, but Algeria is determined to keep it under control.
Aknoush thinks the country wants to “frame the limits of (Wagner’s) activity without compromising the security and stability of neighbouring countries”. She said: “Algeria fears that (Wagner) will be employed by parties hostile to the country to compromise its security and stability through means such as drugs, illegal immigration, arms smuggling, etc.”
Aknoush added that “any decision regarding the region's future must be made in coordination with Algeria”, given its historic and strategic role. For her colleague Fouad Jeddou, another politics professor at the same university, Attaf’s statements “can be read from several angles”. One of these is “Algeria’s categorical refusal to grant military bases to Western countries to pursue terrorist groups in the Sahel, especially in Mali, Niger, Chad, and Burkina Faso”. Algeria fears the bases would attract trouble.
