"We studied there and know the potential," said Christian Ouédraogo, who arrived in the Soviet Union in the late 1980s and now leads a Russian-Burkinabe business club. "We want to play our part - to sit down at the negotiating table and accompany authorities so that this partnership is win-win and enables real growth for our nations."
The Biden administration has been frustrated as junta officials in Burkina Faso and its neighbors have embraced warm relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Interviews with the former students in Burkina Faso underscored the breadth of ties with Russia, which extend beyond the security cooperation that is often the focus of Western officials.
"We know Russia well - the language and the mentality," Daouda Diané, who studied hydrologic engineering in Russia and now leads a club of former students. So we are well placed to explain to our countries that this partnership can work effectively and benefit both sides."
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