The newly re-elected president of the Central African Republic (CAR), Faustin-Archange Touadera, has invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to visit his country, Russian state news agency TASS reported on Wednesday.

Moscow has become a key ally of Touadera in recent years, with CAR in 2018 becoming the first West and Central African nation to bring in Russia's Wagner mercenaries as the chronically unstable nation sought to fend off several rebel groups.

Touadera, in power since 2016, won a third term in office, provisional results showed this week, securing an outright majority in the presidential election held on December 28.

In a video interview with TASS, Touadera called Putin a "great leader" and said the Kremlin chief was "very attentive" to relations with Bangui.

Commenting on preliminary election results showing Touadera in the lead, the Wagner Group wrote on its Telegram channel: "We have no doubt that the chosen course of maintaining order and peace will prevail."

Touadera's victory is likely to further Russia's interests in the country, including in gold and diamond mining.