CIA Director Bill Burns engaged in a conversation with Algeria’s army chief of staff, Said Chengriha, on Wednesday, addressing mutual concerns, as reported by the Algerian defense ministry and an informed source.
According to the Algerian defense ministry, the discussion focused on ways to bolster cooperation and enhance security coordination between the United States and Algeria. Both Burns and Chengriha expressed their satisfaction with the current level of security coordination, particularly in the realm of counterterrorism efforts.
This conversation follows Chengriha’s meeting with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu the previous month. Moscow had expressed its willingness to assist Algeria in improving its armed forces’ combat readiness. Bill Burns has played a key role in U.S. efforts to counteract Russian influence in Africa, especially in light of the Wagner Group’s official agreements with several African nations’ armies.
The CIA declined to comment on the specifics of the call.
Notably, Bill Burns made a trip to Libya in January, which was reported as the first visit by a CIA director to the country since the fatal 2012 attack that claimed the lives of the U.S. ambassador and others.
In the past, a bipartisan group of lawmakers expressed concerns to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken regarding Algeria’s deepening ties with Russia and called for sanctions against Algerian government officials involved in an arms deal with Moscow. Reports indicated that Algeria had inked a more than $7 billion arms deal with Russia, encompassing the purchase of Su-57 fighter jets, air defense systems, and other military equipment.
The Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), passed by Congress in 2017, stipulates sanctions against countries engaging in defense or intelligence agreements with certain nations, including Russia.