General Mahamat Idriss Deby spoke after Thursday's announcement that Chad was scrapping a defence accord with the former colonial power, removing France's last foothold in the Sahel region.

"Chad is in no way seeking to replace one power with another, much less intending to change masters," Deby told reporters on Sunday.

The move aimed "to refocus our partnership with France on other areas that will have a more positive impact on our respective people's daily lives," Deby said.

He said Chad's military accords with France had become "obsolete" and did not match the "political and strategic realities of our time".

"Chad will continue to play its full role and take its place at the heart of initiatives for strengthening peace and security on the African continent."

France was forced in 2022 and 2023 to remove its troops from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger after military leaders close to Moscow took over in those countries.

Deby has sought closer ties with Moscow in recent months, but talks to strengthen economic cooperation with Russia have yet to bear concrete results.

The landlocked central African nation faces a threat from Boko Haram and other militant groups.

It borders the Central African Republic, Sudan, Libya and Niger, all of which host Russian paramilitary forces from the Wagner group.

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