Reestablishing the missions could widen cooperation and unlock new areas of partnership, the Russian president said

Russia and Togo have agreed to reopen embassies in both countries in 2026, President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday.

Speaking during a meeting at the Kremlin with Faure Gnassingbe, First President of the Council of Ministers of Togo, Putin noted that although the two states marked 65 years of diplomatic relations in 2025, they have operated without permanent missions for decades.

According to the president, despite the absence of formal representation, trade and economic contacts have persisted, though at limited levels. Putin said he hoped that reopening the missions, alongside the creation of an intergovernmental commission, would help broaden cooperation and unlock new areas of partnership.

Gnassingbe welcomed the move, describing it as the beginning of a "new epoch" in bilateral relations. Togo's mission in Moscow ceased operations in 1999.

Russia's embassy in Lome has been closed since 1992. In June, the Russian government ordered its reopening. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was tasked with determining the embassy's staffing plan and approving its organizational structure. It was originally anticipated that this process would be completed by the end of 2025.

The announcement comes as Russia expands its diplomatic presence across Africa. Moscow reopened embassies in Burkina Faso and Equatorial Guinea in 2024 and will soon launch missions in South Sudan, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced earlier this week. Liberia, the Gambia, and the Comoros are also among the next countries on the list for permanent missions.

In August, Anatoly Bashkin, director of the Africa Department at the Russian Foreign Ministry, told African Initiative that Russia plans to keep working on reopening diplomatic missions that were shut down after the Soviet Union's collapse, as well as establishing new embassies across the African continent.

(RT.com)