The Russian delegation met President Salva Kiir at J1 on Friday/Office of the President

A top Russian diplomat visited Juba this week as South Sudan and Russia seek to strengthen their bilateral relations.

The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation and Presidential Special Envoy for the Middle East and Africa Hon. Mikhail Bogdanov and his accompanying delegation met President Salva Kiir at the statehouse on Friday.

Speaking to the press after the meeting, Minister for Presidential Affairs, Dr. Barnaba Marial Benjamin said the discussions centered on bilateral relations and Russian support to South Sudan.

“The Russian Federation has stood very strongly in the Security Council in trying to oppose the arms embargo and sanctions on the Republic of South Sudan,” Dr. Barnaba Marial told state broadcaster SSBC.

“So our president was very thankful for the stand and the great support this country got from the Russian Federation.”

The Russian Special Envoy for the Middle East and Africa, Mikhail Bogdanov said Russia will support political dialogue in seeking grassroots solutions to the problems.

“We discussed the possibilities of boosting our cooperation in different fields of economic interests, including intensifying political dialogue and cooperation in the Security Council and the General Assembly of the United Nations to ordinate our positions in very important international and African issues,” Mikhail Bogdanov said.

“We always count on the assessment of our friends in Juba about the ways of solving the problems in this continent. We always support and encourage our African friends to discuss and find the proper solutions to the disputes and conflicts,” he added.

Currently, the UN Security Council has a standing arms embargo on South Sudan which Russia opposes.

The government of South Sudan has on multiple occasions called for the lifting of the arms embargo, arguing that it impedes the graduation of soldiers being trained per the revitalized peace agreement.

But the United States, the main proponent of the arms embargo maintains that South Sudan does not need more arms since there is a lot in the hands of civilians.