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🇷🇺VLADIMIR PUTIN:
"Mr President, friends,
We are delighted to see you.
Before we begin, I would like to thank you once again for your decision to take part in celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War.
I remember our constructive and productive conversation when you first visited our country in 2023 to participate in the Russia–Africa Summit in St Petersburg.
Your current visit to Russia to attend celebrations of the 80th anniversary of Victory is deeply symbolic and reflects the friendly nature of the Russia-Burkina Faso relations.
I would also like to mention your country’s contribution to defeating German Nazism and its satellites.
About 30,000 people from modern-day Burkina Faso fought as part of the anti-Hitler coalition, in the Free France formations led by the legendary son of the French people General Charles de Gaulle.
Today, we are united by a common goal of fighting terrorism and extremism.
We will continue to help the Republic in restoring the rule of law and constitutional order and to assist in suppressing the radical groups that are still active in certain parts of Burkina Faso.
Over the past two years, we have made significant progress in expanding mutually beneficial cooperation across various areas.
In late 2023, after a pause that lasted over 30 years, the Russian Embassy in Ouagadougou resumed its operations.
A regular political dialogue was established.
Even though bilateral trade remains modest, it is nonetheless on the rise, which is a promising trend that should, of course, be encouraged.
We will work together to further strengthen economic ties and diversify mutual trade.
The Burkina Faso Economic Days in Russia in October 2024, which were attended by a high-ranking Burkinabe delegation headed by the Prime Minister, were beneficial in this regard.
Work is under way to create an intergovernmental commission.
A dedicated working group was formed in late 2024.
We will continue to help your country in training national personnel.
The Russian government scholarship quota for Burkinabe citizens has been more than doubled for the 2024–2025 academic year.
This year, we are prepared to take 27 more students from your country.
The tuition will be covered from Russia’s federal budget.
In all, about 3,500 students from Burkina Faso received their education in Russia.
Cultural and humanitarian ties have been promoted since 2024 by the Ouagadougou-based Russia House, which offers Russian language classes, among others.
Cooperation in healthcare and sanitation holds a lot of promise.
On April 24–25, Ms Popova visited Ouagadougou.
We are ready to carry out joint scientific research, develop laboratory infrastructure, and train specialists.
We prioritise humanitarian aid to Burkina Faso as well.
Last year, we shipped to your country 25,000 tonnes of wheat free of charge.
This month, a large shipment of other foods will arrive in Ouagadougou.
We appreciate close coordination with Burkina Faso in the international arena, including at the United Nations and other international organisations.
Consultations between Russia and the Confederation of Sahel States have become a valuable new cooperation format.
The first such meeting took place at the level of foreign ministers in Moscow in April.
I think our prospects are good across many areas.
We have an opportunity to discuss some of them today."
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Text:
🇧🇫
IBRAHIM TRAORÉ:
[Speaking in Russian]
"Good day, Comrade President."
[Retranslated]
"It is an honor to be here for the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory.
I would like to extend my congratulations and sincere thanks for this invitation, which carries deep symbolic meaning for us.
During my visit, I have learned a great deal.
The cultural session I attended on the eve of the dinner helped me understand that history and culture are the foundation upon which a strong and resilient army is built.
Together, we have seen the immense sacrifices made by the Soviet people so that today we may live in a free world.
For this, I extend once again our heartfelt gratitude.
Moments like these allow us to reflect on our own situation and envision new paths forward.
The obstacles we face today must not stop us.
On the contrary, they can serve us in some ways.
Because despite all the sanctions imposed on Russia, your country has developed internal mechanisms that have brought it back to the forefront of the international stage.
We take this lesson to heart.
During the parade, I was deeply impressed by the display of military equipment — from the legendary T-34 tank of the Great Patriotic War to today’s modern machines.
It shows just how far the Russian army has advanced, and how technology has strengthened its capabilities.
In this context, we hope our cooperation will grow exponentially.
I thank you for the scholarships already granted to students from Burkina Faso, and I hope they will continue to expand.
This morning, I visited the University of Chemistry [D. Mendeleev University], and I emphasized that after defense and security, our top priority is education — especially in the sciences.
We hope Russia can help us train our youth in scientific fields.
Because only by developing our own industrial and military technologies can we build a sustainable future for Africa.
The war that has been imposed on us today is, in many ways, a new face of Nazism.
The terrorism we are confronting is not terrorism — it is imperialism.
It is our land that interests those who attack us.
Ending this war, building a strong army, and launching the development of our homeland — that is the meaning of our struggle.
And for this, the training of qualified personnel is vital.
We know you are engaged in a special military operation.
We understand the challenges you face, and what it means for the rest of the world.
That is why we are not here to ask for material aid.
The assistance we are seeking is knowledge transfer.
We would like to see more scholarships made available and also explore how we ourselves can fund student opportunities to study here.
Furthermore, we hope that Russian universities — especially the one I visited, and others focused on science — can establish branches in Burkina Faso, complete with the laboratories necessary to provide our youth with hands-on, practical training.
This is our essential request today:
To transform what we have at home.
To produce for ourselves.
And to make Burkina Faso a hub where many young Africans can come to study science.
Because here in Russia, you have mines of knowledge.
You have produced great minds whose works we continue to study.
That wisdom is like a tree, and we hope to draw from its roots to nourish our own development."
https://x.com/nxt888/status/1921280842498007158
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