MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia and Nigeria have signed a deal for Moscow to supply 12 Mi-35 attack helicopters to Nigeria, a senior official at Russia’s federal military-technical cooperation service said on Wednesday, the RIA news agency reported.

The contract was announced as Russia welcomed dozens of African heads of state to the southern Russian city of Sochi amid a push by Moscow for clout on the continent.

(This story corrects country to Nigeria, not Niger, in headline and paragraph 1 after RIA issued correction)