Algeria-Russia: trade, gas… and hypersonic weapons?

Russia has developed hypersonic weapons. As tension mounts between Algeria and Morocco, Algiers consolidates its relations with Moscow ...

The announcement dates from 2018. Russian President Vladimir Poutine then spoke of the commissioning of “invincible” hypersonic weapons. Three years later, Moscow entered a more operational phase. The Zircon cruise missile was tested three times in July, October and Thursday, November 18. And the least that can be said is that this missile has the merit of rendering obsolete the military apparatus of all the other world military powers.Online sales site in Tunisia
To tell the truth, since the announcement by Russia of the marketing of the "Mini-Kinzhal", the hypersonic missile usable by fighter planes, the United States and the United Kingdom have started to review the defense of their allies, in Japan and in Europe in particular.

So far, Russia has only sold these new weapons to Syria. But negotiations are currently underway with Iran, and it seems increasingly likely that Russia's first African ally, Algeria, will also acquire Russian hypersonic weapons.

A friendship that stands the test of time

Relations between Moscow and Algiers are not new. In the midst of the Cold War, Algeria had welcomed many figures of Third Worldism, Pan-African activists or simple supporters of the ideology of the Eastern bloc: Amilcar Cabral, Frantz Fanon, Che Guevara, Nelson Mandela or Eldridge. Cleaver. It should also be remembered that the second Algerian head of state, Ahmed Ben Bella, was one of the few non-Russians awarded the Gold Star of the Order of Lenin since 1963.

Since its independence, Algeria has moved closer to Russia, and this relationship has never seen a bottom. In addition to the common diplomatic interests and the “win-win” ideology carried by the two States, as well as a secular disenchantment for the West, Algeria and Moscow have over time become real partners.

A partnership which also touches on several sectors: aeronautics, aerospace, culture, education, trade, hydrocarbons, military cooperation ... Russia organizes each year the Algerian Days in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, and the northern country. Africain has for its part been hosting the Days of Russian Culture in its three major cities for a decade.

Military cooperation, but not only

It is especially since 2001 that military cooperation between Algeria and Russia has taken a step forward, building on the long-standing friendship between the two countries.

In 2006, Russian President Vladimir Putin canceled the Algerian debt estimated at 4,7 billion dollars. Trade, which peaked at $ 200 million in 2000, now exceeds $ 5 billion. In 2018, more than two-thirds of Algerian weapons came from Russia.

Above all, since 2007, the alliance between the Russian company Gazprom and the African major Sonatrach has revolutionized the world gas market. "Towards OPEC gas," announced Roman Kupchinsky. And for good reason: the Algerian-Russian gas alliance now supplies more than 27% of its gas to Europe and mainly controls the prices of natural gas.

The icing on the cake: Algerian gas revenues have doubled and represent, for Russia, more than 11% of its GDP and 8% of its exports.

A solid pact in a changing world

On the diplomatic side, Algeria and Russia often stand together, especially with regard to African issues. This is enough to consolidate Algiers, whose diplomatic policy has been reviewed over the past three years, in particular with the return to the forefront of Algerian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ramtane Lamamra.

The latter has relaunched several African projects dating from 2015, from the Trans-Saharan to the Algiers Accord, including the fight against terrorism in the Sahel or the search foran African solution to the Libyan issue. Where Algiers intervenes, Russia is not far away. We have seen it in Mali or with the rise in tensions between France and French-speaking African countries.

At the same time, an arms race has started, in particular because of relations which deteriorate from year to year between the two North African neighbors, Algeria and Morocco. In question, the Sahrawi conflict and the normalization of relations between the Shereefian kingdom and Israel. And although Algerian military superiority is indisputable, and the conflict between the two states remains very hypothetical, military deterrence remains important. For both Morocco and Algeria, acquiring the latest military technologies is a crucial step in the midst of the North African cold war.

Russia's role in the Algeria-Morocco conflict

If Morocco can count on France and Israel, Algeria has turned to its long-time ally, Russia, to strengthen its arsenal. After the latest fires in eastern Algeria, Algiers promptly bought the Russian Beriev module for all of its military planes, turning them into power Canadairs, for barely 20% of the cost of a water bomber plane. western.

In the cyber defense sector, Algeria has relied on Russian technology for years. And since the Pegasus scandal, this aspect of security cooperation has become more important. "Since Russia is Algeria's first military partner, a collaboration with this country would be necessary to launch the development of this kind of technologies, including those of electronic encryption, before Algerian engineers begin to develop their own tools by associating universities with them, ”says Dr Mohamed Salah Djemal, security specialist in Africa at the European Center for Counterterrorism Studies (ECCI).

As for drones and advanced technologies, Algeria, like Morocco, recently concluded agreements with Turkey and the United States, which prefer to remain on the sidelines of the conflict between neighbors.

But with the arrival of hypersonic weapons on the market, Russia has taken a step ahead. An advantage, in ricochets, for Algeria which could well become the first African ally of Moscow to obtain these weapons.