Paris (AFP)
The President of the Senate Gérard Larcher received Friday the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mali, Tiébilé Dramé, who "disavowed" the words of his ambassador questioning the behavior of French soldiers, said the presidency of the Senate.
The Malian ambassador to France, who accused French soldiers on Wednesday of "overflows" in the red light districts of Bamako, was recalled Thursday in his country after having provoked the ire of the French authorities for remarks considered "false and unacceptable" .
Mr. Larcher and the chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense committee, Christian Cambon, "wished to obtain clarifications, essential after the remarks made by the ambassador of Mali in France", Toumani Djimé Diallo, before this committee.
"Within the framework of this exchange, the Malian Minister for Foreign Affairs repudiated the remarks made by his ambassador and indicated that + the blood of the young French people irrigated the friendship between France and Mali +, indicated the presidency of the Senate in a statement.
The minister "declared himself ready to intervene" before the commission "to reassert, without ambiguity, the friendship which unites Mali with France," said the presidency.
The President of the Senate "strongly condemned" these words "which are based on untruths and only serve to fuel communication campaigns against France, which play into the hands of terrorist groups".
"By fighting the terrorist groups which threaten the local populations, alongside the armies of the G5 Sahel countries and risking their lives, the French soldiers do honor to the Nation. They also ensure our protection for all," said Mr. Larcher, cited in the press release.
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