Moscow expresses its deep condolences to Chad in connection with the passing of the African President Idriss Déby Itno who was a consistent supporter of strengthening the mutually beneficial cooperation with Russia, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
"Idriss Déby Itno was a consistent supporter of strengthening mutually beneficial cooperation with Russia and helped expand bilateral ties between Moscow and N'Djamena in various fields," the diplomatic office pointed out. - "We express our deep condolences to the relatives and friends of I. Déby Itno, as well as to the entire Chadian people".
Smolensk Square stressed that Déby Itno was a prominent statesman, who enjoyed authority both within his country and abroad. "During his years as head of state, he made a significant contribution to Chad's progress towards stable socio-economic development, helped maintain peace and security on the African continent, and led a determined fight against terrorism and extremism in the Sahara-Sahel region," the Russian Foreign Ministry added.
Idriss Déby Itno died on Tuesday of wounds he sustained while fighting insurgents north of the capital, N'Djamena. Hours earlier, Chad's independent national electoral commission announced that Idriss Déby Itno, 68, who has led the country since 1990, had won the country's presidential election on April 11, re-elected for a sixth term. He received 79.32 percent of the total number of voters.
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Photo: FACEBOOK.COM/IDRISSDEBYITN
Based on materials from TASS