President of the Central African Republic (CAR) Faustin-Archange Touadera on Thursday thanked Russia "for making possible" the holding of elections in his country.

Speaking at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Touadera said Moscow provided the security necessary for the electoral process in December 2025.

"You mentioned the elections in our country, and four types of elections were held recently. Thank you for the congratulations. We did hold elections, and Russia made a significant contribution. Russia made these elections possible by providing security," he said.

The African leader added that his country is experiencing a difficult situation with energy resources and requested Russia's assistance in this regard.

Economy

"We are experiencing a difficult situation in this area at the moment. Your help has helped resolve difficulties in this sector, which is important for the economy and for the whole country," he said.

For his part, Putin congratulated Touadera on his re-election, saying the results of the vote demonstrated that the people of CAR support "the policies pursued by the current leader, both in strengthening the domestic political situation and security and in addressing economic issues."

He also thanked Touadera for supporting the Russian language in the country.

"As for the economy, we are currently considering what I believe is a very timely decision: the establishment of an intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation," Putin said.

Security stabilising

The security situation in the CAR is gradually stabilising, marking a historic step toward ending its long-running armed conflict.

While threats from some armed groups persist, they are largely localised to border areas, with stability further challenged by the spillover from the conflict in neighbouring Sudan. A peace process is underway, with over 6,000 former combatants having disarmed.