Tension is mounting around the ongoing negotiations between the Malian transitional authorities and the private security group Wagner. This Tuesday, September 14, 2021, the French Minister of the Armed Forces Flore ...

Mali: why are the negotiations between Bamako and Wagner arousing so much tension?

The leader of the Malian transition, Assimi Goïta.

Text by: RFI Follow

4 min

Tension is mounting around the ongoing negotiations between the Malian transitional authorities and the private security group Wagner.

This Tuesday, September 14, 2021, French Minister of the Armed Forces Florence Parly ruled that such an agreement would be "

extremely worrying and contradictory

" with the action carried out by the French military in the Sahel.

Foreign Minister Jean-Yves le Drian even judges that the arrival of the Russian group would be "

absolutely irreconcilable

" with the presence of French soldiers.

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In Paris, there is real concern

to see the Russians of the sulphurous Wagner company gaining a foothold in Mali, the key country of Operation Barkhane.

The French authorities warn: this is a new red line.

No Wagner in Mali.

Just as a few months ago, Paris had indicated to the Malian government that it was not possible to negotiate with the armed terrorist groups who are fighting Barkhane's soldiers.

According to press reports, the Wagner group could send several hundred or even a thousand Russian mercenaries to Mali.

This agreement between Bamako and the Wagner group has not even been signed and is already provoking very strong reactions.

It must be said that a lot of things are played around this agreement.

The first issue is that of national sovereignty. Speaking of Jean-Yves le Drian, who threatens to withdraw French soldiers from the country, the Malian Ministry of Defense replies: “

Mali intends to diversify its relations, we speak with everyone.

Nothing could be more legitimate for a State. This sovereignty issue joins a domestic political issue: the transitional authorities want to show Malian opinion their independence and their strength. And in the face of the former colonizer, the political gain, when the question of extending the transition period arises, is obvious. Moreover, the specter of this agreement can also be perceived as an asset to validate, this time with Mali's current international partners, this lengthening of the transition. As if it were a bluff during a game of poker, this is what some informed observers do not exclude.

Then there is the diplomatic issue, that of influence.

Russia is not considered an enemy, neither by France nor by the European Union or the United Nations.

But elsewhere in the world - in Syria, Libya, Ukraine - it is clear that the interests and the strategies implemented are often very opposed.

So the arrival of Moscow in the Sahelian theater frightens France, but also Mali's other western partners.

Access to mining sites as a bonus

There is also the issue of human rights. Whatever the interests of each one, it is not illegitimate to recall the many accusations of abuses, particularly violent, of

which the agents of Wagner are the object in the Central African Republic

or in Syria. Accusations documented by journalists and human rights organizations. Finally, there is the economic issue: we are talking about more than nine million euros per month with the bonus of access to several mining sites. If nothing has yet been signed, this still remains a question to be taken into account since the Malian budget is what it is, and American, French or UN military cooperation does not pay off.

After the warning from French officials, and perhaps to lower the pressure, the Kremlin spokesman on Wednesday morning made it clear that Russia is not negotiating any military presence in Mali, and that it is not negotiating any military presence in Mali. There is no representative of the Russian armed forces on site.

Of course, without ever mentioning the presence of the private company Wagner.

Wagner who in Western eyes is neither more nor less than a false nose of Moscow.

The Malian Ministry of Defense admitted it: there are indeed negotiations to deploy a thousand Russian paramilitaries responsible for training the Malian armed forces and ensuring the protection of the leaders.

For now, we do not know more.

But if this contract were to take shape, it would cause a real earthquake in the Sahelo-Saharan strip.

Indeed, Operation Barkhane extends very widely beyond Malian borders, the force's headquarters are in N'Djamena. Its main air base is in Niamey. As for the special forces, they are in Ouagadougou. Barkhane, from an operational point of view, can continue its mission. However, most of the operations are taking place in Mali, in the area of the three borders between Liptako and Gourma. If there is a break with Bamako, there is a double question: what will the American ally decide? What will the Europeans who are currently gaining strength

within the Takouba force do

? Finally, it would force Barkhane to leave Gao, his most important base in Mali. And logistically, that would be no easy feat.

Mali: why are the negotiations between Bamako and Wagner arousing so much tension?

Mali: why are the negotiations between Bamako and Wagner arousing so much tension?

Access to mining sites as a bonus

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