The death of the head of Russian private military company Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, is a sad event, but it will not affect cooperation between the Central African Republic (CAR) and the Russian military, Fidele Gouandjika, a senior adviser to the CAR president, said.
"It's sad news, he saved democracy so the country's in mourning. But for us it changes absolutely nothing," Gouandjika said in an interview with the Financial Times newspaper, adding that CAR's agreement with the Kremlin provides for the further presence of Wagner forces in the country.
On Wednesday, a private airplane with 10 people on board crashed in Russia's Tver Region en route from Moscow to St. Petersburg, leaving no survivors. According to Russia's aviation agency, Prigozhin was listed as a passenger on the plane. An investigation into the accident is underway.