Bensalah To Putin: “The Crisis In Algeria Is Under Control”

Head of State Mr. Abdelkader Bensalah said on Thursday that the situation in Algeria is under control and that the country is able to overcome this delicate phase thanks to a plan that was put in place to face up to the ongoing crisis.

This came out during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, on the sidelines of the Sotchi summit on cooperation between Russia and the African continent.

“I assure you that the situation in Algeria is well under control and that we are able to overcome this delicate phase,” Mr Bensalah told Mr Putin.

 He explained, “We have drawn up a vision and a plan and we are in the process of wrapping up its final stages.

For his part, President Vladimir Putin said during the meeting, “We are ready to provide all support on the basis of the traditional friendship between us and mutual trust between our two countries and peoples.”

He underlined that his country Russia “sincerely” wanted Algeria to “overcome its difficulties and strengthen its sovereignty”.

“We know that very important political events are taking place in Algeria. We sincerely hope that the Algerian people will overcome the difficulties of the transition period. We are convinced that everything will take place in such a way that the Algerian people will benefit, and that they will strengthen their State and their sovereignty,” Mr Putin added.

According to the Russian President, Moscow attaches “great importance to the development of the strategic partnership with Algeria, which is one of its main economic partners in Africa and the Arab world”.

Russian-Algerian trade, he went on to say, increased by “18% in 2018 to almost 5 billion dollars”.