By Al Ahed Staff, Agencies
Russia is set to open its first embassy in Moroni, the capital of the Comoros, by the end of this year, according to a government directive released on Saturday.
The Comorian government had already signaled its support in March, sending a formal note to Russia’s embassy in Madagascar to confirm its readiness.
The directive states that the proposal from Russia’s Foreign Ministry — coordinated with other federal bodies and approved by Comorian authorities — authorizes the establishment of a Russian embassy in the Comoros in 2025.
Although Moscow and the Comoros have maintained diplomatic relations since 1976, Russia has never had a permanent mission in the island nation.
For decades, the Russian ambassador to the Comoros has been based in Madagascar, which has handled all bilateral affairs. The Comoros, likewise, does not have an embassy in Moscow.
The move is part of Russia’s broader strategy to expand its diplomatic presence across Africa. In November, President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia and Togo would reopen their embassies in 2026, decades after both missions were closed in the 1990s.
Russia has already resumed operations in Burkina Faso and Equatorial Guinea this year, and plans to open or reopen embassies in South Sudan, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Liberia and the Gambia. Anatoly Bashkin, head of the Foreign Ministry’s Africa Department, said Russia aims to restore posts shut after the Soviet Union’s collapse while establishing new ones across the continent.
According to the Foreign Ministry, Russia now operates 43 diplomatic and consular missions in Africa.
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