Moscow has cut its diplomatic staff in Europe by about 150 and relocated most of them to Africa, the Russian foreign minister has said
Moscow is working to re-launch operations at approximately ten embassies in Africa in the coming years, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday.
Speaking at the Government Hour hearings during a plenary session of the State Duma, Lavrov stated that Moscow has cut its diplomatic presence in Europe by an estimated 120–150 staff and is relocating the employees.
“90 per cent of these released employees have been redirected to the African track, where we are resuming the operations of around ten embassies in total: some have already reopened, while others are to open within the next year or two,” Lavrov said.
In January, Lavrov stated that the number of Russian embassies in Africa would reach 49 once new missions open in countries such as The Gambia, Liberia, Togo and the Comoros, “that is, in almost all countries without exception.”
“Last year, we opened embassies in Niger, Sierra Leone, and South Sudan,” Lavrov reported.
Russia reopened its embassy in Niamey, Niger, in late 2025 as part of a broader expansion of its diplomatic presence in Africa. Moscow’s mission in the capital had been closed in 1992 following the collapse of the Soviet Union and subsequent financial constraints.
In October 2025, Russia also resumed operations at its embassy in Freetown, Sierra Leone, appointing a new ambassador to lead the mission. The embassy there had previously closed in September 1992, ending nearly three decades of diplomatic activity.
Russia established its first-ever embassy in Juba, South Sudan, in late 2025; its ambassador was presented credentials in December. Moscow had not maintained a permanent diplomatic mission in South Sudan before; the country only gained independence in 2011.
Moscow reopened embassies in Burkina Faso and Equatorial Guinea in 2024.
Anatoly Bashkin, director of the ministry’s Africa Department, highlighted in August that Russia intends to continue restoring diplomatic posts shuttered after the Soviet Union’s collapse, as well as establishing new embassies across the African continent.