Russian state-owned news agency RIA quoted ambassador Alexander Bikantov as saying: "Today, there are 1,890 Russian instructors in the C.A.R..
The mercenary Wagner Group, founded by Putin ally Yevgeny Prigozhin, has become a major player in the Central African Republic, largely displacing former colonial power France.
The government in Bangui is interested in increasing their number, and says it has has sent the relevant application to the UN Security Council.
Wagner initially intervened on the side of the government to quell a civil war which has raged since 2012.
Wagner has previously deployed to Syria, Libya and Mali, among other countries.
Russia also has Wagner fighters in Ukraine, often in front-line positions to serve, according to some observers, as "cannon fodder" to take Kyiv's bullets instead of regular Russian forces.
The mercenary group has been accused in multiple countries of egregious human rights violations.
