West ‘deeply concerned’ about joint Russia-Algeria military exercises

LONDON - Joint military exercises between the Algerian and Russian armies on the North African country’s soil sparked the West’s ‘deep concern’ at a time of a global energy crisis sparked by Russia’s war on Ukraine.

The anti-terrorism drills, which are called the “Desert Shield”, are taking place from November 16 to 28 for the first time in Algeria in the southwestern region of Béchar, about fifty kilometres from the Moroccan border, according to the Russian agency Sputnik.

Bloomberg said Wednesday that Algeria and Russia began their first joint military exercises on Algerian soil amid Western concerns over Moscow’s deepening ties with the North African nation that’s a key energy supplier for Europe.

Algeria has been intensifying this year its joint military exercises with its close ally Russia.

In October, Russian warships docked in the port of Algiers for a joint exercise with Algerian naval forces in the Mediterranean. In September, Algerian soldiers took part in the “Vostok 2022” manoeuvres in the Russian Eastern Military District.

On November 10, Dmitry Shugayev, the director of Russia's Federal Service of Military and Technical Cooperation, met with Algerian General Saïd Chengriha in Algiers “as part of the execution of the Algerian-Russian bilateral military cooperation program,” according to the Algerian press.

Algeria has become the largest importer of Russian weapons in the world. Algerian media reported that a huge contract was being prepared for an amount of more than 11 billion dollars to acquire more weapons from Russia as Algeria allocated a $23 billion defence budget for the fiscal year of 2023. 

Algeria has lately played a major role in supplying gas to Europe to offset the energy crisis that has been exacerbated by Russia’s war in Ukraine, while in the same time forging closer ties with Moscow.

A group of 17 MEPs called on European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen to re-open the European Union’s association agreement with Algiers in a letter which expresses ‘deep concern’ at Algeria’s close political and economic ties to Russia. 

Algeria’s regime is “among the top four buyers of Russian arms worldwide, culminating with a more than €7 billion arms deal in 2021,” the MEPs warned. 

The letter also criticised Algeria’s decision to abstain on a United Nations resolution censuring Russia’s attempts to annex Ukrainian regions, a move the MEPs described as “astonishing taking into account that Algeria has always tried to abide by international law and it respects nations’ sovereignty.”

“However, it seems that is all about Algerian double standards,” said the letter.

Algeria abstained twice this year from voting on UN resolutions condemning the war in Ukraine and refused to criticise Russia’s annexation of parts of Ukrainian territory. In turn, Russia opted for a neutral stance regarding the dispute over Western Sahara.

The Moroccan-Algerian border has now become a new hotspot of geo-strategic influence between the West and Russia.

In September, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that the military exercises with Algeria “are routine and are not aimed against any third country.”

But experts see Russia’s joint military exercise with Algeria 50 km from Morocco’s border as a provocative move aimed at the North African kingdom, which has earlier this year held joint “African Lion” military drills with the US army on its soil close to the Algerian border.

In September, a letter, signed by 27 Democrats and Republicans, called on the Biden administration to use the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) to sanction Algeria’s purchase of Russian arms.

CAATSA allows the US government to impose sanctions on those who are engaged in “a significant transaction with a person that is part of, or operates for or on behalf of, the defense or intelligence sectors of the Government of the Russian Federation.” 

“This recent Algeria-Russia arms purchase would clearly be categorised as ‘a significant transaction’ under CAATSA. Yet, no sanctions available to you have been crafted by the State Department,” said the letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

“The United States needs to send a clear message to the world that the support for Vladimir Putin, and his regime’s barbaric war efforts will not be tolerated,” said the letter

“Therefore, we request you begin to immediately implement significant sanctions on those in the Algerian government who were involved in the purchase of Russian arms,” it added.