Third largest importer of Russian arms worldwide, Algiers is strengthening its military cooperation with Moscow as the war in Ukraine is in full swing.
Russia and Algeria have started joint naval maneuvers in the Mediterranean, the Algerian Ministry of National Defense announced in a statement released on Wednesday (October 19th).
“As part of the strengthening of bilateral military cooperation relations between the Navy of the National Army and the Russian Navy, a detachment of ships from the Russian fleet docked on Tuesday, October 18, 2022, at the port of Algiers, for the execution of a common naval exercise”, specified the ministry, indicating that these maneuvers are spread over four days.
This exercise is the latest in a series of joint military maneuvers inaugurated in 2021. Last July, the Algerian Ministry of Defense had already announced the arrival of a detachment of Russian Navy warships at the port of Algiers within the framework of military cooperation.
Two months later, around 100 Algerian soldiers took part in the “Vostok 2022” military exercises, which took place in the far east of mainland Russia and are usually attended only by Moscow’s closest allies.
Sputnik, the Russian state media also announced that joint military maneuvers between the two countries are scheduled for November 16-28, 2022 in southern Algeria.
Called “Desert Shield-2022”, these maneuvers will consist of “tactical movements aimed at searching, detecting and destroying illegal armed groups”. They should take place on the military base of Hammaguir, located in the Algerian province of Béchar, near the border with Morocco and 700 kilometers from the Spanish enclave of Melilla, according to Algerian media.
According to the latest report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Algeria is the third largest importer of Russian arms worldwide. Over the period 2016-2020, Algiers covers 15% of Russian arms sales.
