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Algeria Gate: Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, on Monday accused France of arming and directing illegal armed groups in African countries. This came during a joint press conference held by Lavrov with his Ghanaian counterpart Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa following bilateral talks in the Russian capital, Moscow.

He added that terrorist attacks in Africa “are being planned by certain countries that have lost their colonial influence in Africa and cannot accept that,” considering France one of them. In this context, Lavrov accused France of working directly with illegal armed groups in Africa, supplying them with weapons, and directing them. He noted that Russia is in the process of signing a memorandum of cooperation with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Algeria Gate: Algeria’s state energy group Sonatrach and Italy’s Eni have signed a new memorandum of intent aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions, including methane, across Algeria’s oil and gas sector. The agreement targets concrete decarbonization opportunities and initiatives, drawing on international best practices adopted across the global oil and gas industry.

Building on the 2023 Sonatrach-Eni Partnership

According to a Sonatrach statement, the new protocol extends work carried out under a 2023 memorandum of intent between the two companies, which focused on technological cooperation to reduce and make better use of flared gas, along with developing emissions-reduction technologies.

Energy audits and technical assessments carried out under that earlier agreement identified opportunities of mutual interest and paved the way for concrete emissions-reduction measures on the ground.

Joint Emissions-Reduction Initiatives

As part of the ongoing partnership, Sonatrach and Eni carried out a structured program of joint activities, including:

• Technical analyses of emissions sources
• Capacity-building initiatives and staff training
• Field visits to operational sites

Targeted training courses were also developed for immediate rollout, alongside precise technical measures required at individual production sites.

Leak Detection and Repair Campaign Cuts Fugitive Emissions

The implementation of the 2023 memorandum already enabled a joint leak detection and repair (LDAR) campaign, which significantly reduced fugitive methane emissions across shared operations.

Leak detection and repair measurement campaigns are now carried out on a regular, systematic basis at gas complexes jointly operated by Sonatrach and Eni. A baseline emissions assessment has also been completed across six facilities run jointly by the two companies in Algeria.

What the New Protocol Means Going Forward

The newly signed protocol allows Sonatrach and Eni to continue the emissions-reduction work launched in 2023 while exploring new areas for further initiatives. It also strengthens cooperation on natural carbon dioxide capture, including through a dedicated reforestation project, expanding the partnership beyond technical fixes to nature-based climate solutions.

Algeria Gate: The rapid transformations in the Sahel no longer allow Europe to treat Algeria as merely a neighboring country to the region or a traditional partner on energy and migration files. With the decline of direct European presence, shifting power balances, and the rise of new international actors, Algeria has imposed itself as a difficult number in any calculations related to Sahel security and the future of the region.

Algeria does not only possess an exceptional geographic position that makes it the northern gateway to the Sahel; it also combines African depth, security expertise, diplomatic weight, and a network of relationships that allow it to communicate with multiple parties, including those whose relations with European capitals have become more complicated.

In this equation, Europe faces a reality that is hard to ignore: one may differ with Algeria politically, but it cannot be bypassed geographically, security-wise, or strategically.

The Sahel Is Changing… and Europe Is Recalculating

In recent years, the Sahel has undergone deep transformations that overturned many of the equations that once governed the region’s relationship with Western powers. French influence has declined, direct European military presence has receded, while countries in the region have sought new partnerships, and Russia has emerged as an influential actor on the security and political scene.

This reality has placed Europe before a real dilemma: how to protect its interests in a region where it has lost a significant part of its traditional tools of influence. Here, Algeria stands out as a country that possesses what some external powers lack: geography, relationships, and the capacity for communication.

Algeria… A Bridge Europe Cannot Bypass

One of Algeria’s most important strengths lies in its ability to engage with Sahel countries from the position of a neighboring African state, rather than that of an external power.

At a time when channels of communication between some European capitals and Sahel authorities have become more difficult, Algeria maintains deep political, security, and geographic ties with the region. In this context, Algeria can play a role that goes beyond traditional mediation: it is capable of serving as a channel for dialogue, an important party in security arrangements, or a partner in addressing regional crises, without necessarily becoming subordinate to any international power. This grants Algerian diplomacy a wide margin of maneuver.

In August 2026, this role re-emerged with the arrival of four Algerian helicopters in Niger within the framework of defense cooperation—a step that reflects Algeria’s continued engagement in its immediate security environment, but through the gateway of cooperation with the countries of the region themselves.

The message here goes beyond the value of the military assistance. Algeria is saying, in practical terms, that it wants Sahel security to be part of the responsibility of the region’s own states, while keeping regional cooperation open to international partners.

European Security Begins South of the Mediterranean

For Europe, the importance of the Sahel does not stop at the borders of the African continent. Armed groups, organized crime networks, human and drug trafficking, and irregular migration are all issues whose effects can move from the Sahel to North Africa and then to the Mediterranean.

Consequently, any European strategy for Mediterranean security cannot be separated from security developments south of the Sahara. Here, Algeria, by virtue of its borders and location, becomes part of the equation.

Algeria has extensive land borders with the Sahel region and has for years dealt with security challenges linked to its southern frontiers. It has also accumulated significant experience in combating terrorism and armed groups.

For Europe, this expertise represents added value at a time when it is searching for a new approach to Sahel security after the decline of the model of direct military intervention.

Migration… Another Card That Makes Algeria Essential

Another factor of no less importance is migration. Europe views the Sahel as one of the main sources of demographic and security pressures reaching the Mediterranean.

But addressing migration does not begin on European shores; it begins in the countries of origin and transit, foremost among them the Sahel and North African states. From this perspective, cooperation with Algeria becomes part of any serious European strategy to curb irregular migration.

Algeria is not merely a transit country. Its location makes it an influential party in the Mediterranean security equation, and its relations with neighboring countries give it the ability to understand the transformations taking place south of the Sahara in a direct manner.

The German National… An Example of the Value of Algeria’s Role

The recovery of the German national who was kidnapped in Niger provides a practical example of the kind of role Algeria can play. The issue is not only about a German citizen returning to his country; it reveals that a European state can find in Algeria a party capable of operating within a complex security environment in the Sahel.

Here, a different value of Algerian diplomacy becomes apparent, not merely in issuing statements or proposing political initiatives, but in possessing the capacity to act when crises become more complicated.