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By Hippolyte Ikome
In Yaoundé, Paul Biya’s government is deliberately orchestrating a closer alignment with Russia, seen as a way to turn its back on criticism from Europe and America. According to several sources close to the regime, Cameroonian envoys had traveled to Moscow prior to the October 12, 2025 election to prepare a post-election congratulatory message from Vladimir Putin, thereby ensuring immediate political backing once the results were announced.
This carefully planned maneuver forms part of a diplomatic strategy of provocation — portraying Russia as a loyal ally in contrast to a Western world perceived as hostile and moralizing. The congratulatory letter attributed to Vladimir Putin, reportedly sent in late October, is viewed as a direct response to Western criticisms denouncing a tightly controlled and fraudulent election.
However, the authenticity of this letter is now under scrutiny: no official trace of such a message appears on the Kremlin’s website, nor on those of Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs or its embassy in Cameroon. This absence fuels doubts about the letter’s true nature or diplomatic weight, with some observers suggesting it may be a communication stunt orchestrated by the Cameroonian regime to project international legitimacy.
By showcasing this support — real or fabricated — from Moscow, Biya seeks to send a double message: domestically, that of a leader still recognized on the global stage; and internationally, that of a regime rejecting the political tutelage of Western chancelleries. The gesture stands as a symbolic act of defiance in the broader geopolitical rivalry between Russia and the West, whose relations have sharply deteriorated since the war in Ukraine.
For several years now, Moscow has positioned itself as an alternative partner for many African regimes seeking political and military backing amid Western pressure. Cameroon, bound to Russia by a security cooperation agreement signed in 2022, has increasingly fallen within this orbit. Exchanges between the two nations have intensified in the fields of defense, energy, and mining.
In this context, the alleged congratulatory message from Vladimir Putin to Paul Biya goes beyond mere diplomatic courtesy: it embodies the strengthening — real or staged — of an axis of defiance against Western influence in Central Africa.
