According to Somali diplomats, Russia has volunteered to assist Somalia's armed forces in their fight against the al-Shabab terrorist group.

According to the diplomats, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to reporters, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov made the offer during talks in Moscow with his Somali colleague, Abshir Omar Jama.

According to one official, "Russia was ready to provide Somalia's army with military supplies, in order to strengthen the government's fight against al-Shabab."

PHOTO | COURTESY Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Somali Foreign Minister Abshir Omar Jama

The officials did not explain what kind of equipment Russia was sending Somalia, which is subject to a long-standing United Nations arms embargo.

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The United Nations Security Council imposed the embargo in 1992, following the onset of civil conflict and factional warfare. The ban was partially eased in 2013 to assist Somalia's security forces in their fight against Islamist terrorists.

Russia's offer came only hours after al-Shabab fighters assaulted a Ugandan military post in Bulo Marer, an agricultural village in the Lower Shabelle region some 110 kilometres south of Mogadishu.

At the start of the meetings between the two foreign ministers, Lavrov stressed the two nations' long relationship, which dates back to the Soviet Union's swift recognition of Somalia after it gained independence in 1960.

PHOTO | COURTESY alshabaab 

He also stated that he and Jama would discuss preparations for the Russia-Africa summit, which is set to take place in late July in St. Petersburg.

Somali officials who requested anonymity informed VOA that the Russian military has been eyeing Berbera port in the breakaway nation of Somaliland as a prospective Red Sea base in recent years.

In support of Mogadishu's strong objections, Russia, China, Gabon, and Ghana have abstained from a Security Council decision to maintain an arms embargo on Somalia in November. The United States and the United Kingdom backed the ban's retention. At the same time, the measure did relax limitations on some weapons, such as portable surface-to-air missiles, in acknowledgement of the government's enhanced management of firearms and ammunition.