A presence "absolutely irreconcilable" with that of the French troops.
Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian reacted strongly, Wednesday, September 15, to the possibility of an agreement between Mali and the sulphurous Russian paramilitary group Wagner for the deployment of mercenaries in the country.
According to Reuters, a contract is about to be signed between the militia close to Vladimir Putin and the Malian junta for the deployment of several hundred Russian personnel, responsible for training Malian soldiers and ensuring the protection of some senior leaders.
This possible rapprochement between Russia and Mali is reminiscent of the close security and economic collaboration established between the two countries during the time of the USSR.
A delicate subject for Paris and Moscow which revives historical tensions.
The USSR, "an old Malian dream
"
On October 23, 2019, more than forty African heads of state gathered in Sochi for the Russia-Africa summit. A historic event by which Vladimir Putin intends to formalize the re-engagement of Russia on the African continent. Present on the spot, the now deposed Malian president, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita is embarking on a charming offensive: "We need your friendship to manifest itself in an area where everyone knows you are a champion, the fight against terrorism. 'have said yourself that you are qualified in this field, Mr. President Putin. We need this qualification today. "
Mired since 2012 in an endless fight against the jihadists, the country has experienced a deterioration of its security situation for several years despite the international anti-terrorism operation Barkhane, led by France in the Sahel. Occasionally, demonstrations break out to demand the departure of French troops. Events where Russian flags sometimes bloom.
"There is an old Malian dream, currently brandished by so-called patriotic currents, of seeing the country break with France to embrace cooperation with Moscow," explains Niagalé Bagayoko, doctor in political science, specialist in security issues in French-speaking Africa. "This wish refers to a fantasized vision of the cooperation forged with the USSR and the Soviet bloc, in particular on the military level, by President Modibo Keïta and pursued by his successor Moussa Traoré. It is also conveyed by France, which does not stop saying that Russia wants to take its place. "
In the early 1960s, which marked the end of the colonial era for most African countries, the USSR embarked on a strategy of alliances on the continent. The Soviet bloc then found itself a perfect ally in the person of the first Malian president, Modibo Keïta, a socialist, who wanted to break with the former colonial power. The USSR then resumed the search for mineral resources, until now managed by France, and at the same time provided military equipment and training to the country. "The USSR, which benefited from an enormous territory rich in resources, had few economic interests on the continent. Its investments were, above all, aimed at using Africa as a theater of influence in a context of cold war with the West ", decrypts Anastasiya Shapochkina,lecturer in geopolitics at Sciences-Po, specialist in Russia. In Mali as in the rest of the region, these massive investments remain largely in deficit for the Soviets, whose African experience ends in failure.
Russian re-engagement
After the fall of the USSR in 1991, the ruined Russia is refocusing on itself.
During the following decade, it concentrated on its privileged sphere of influence, constituted by the countries of the former Soviet bloc.
But from 2012, when Mali goes to war against the Islamists who have taken control of the north, Bamako will do everything to gradually renew a military alliance with Moscow.
The government first signs an agreement with the Russian arms exporter Rosoboronexport for the purchase of 3,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles for an amount of nearly one million euros.
Bamako, which wishes to renew part of its Russian military equipment acquired during the Soviet era, begins more extensive negotiations with Moscow.
In 2016, following the visit of Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov to Mali, Moscow donated two helicopters to the Malian army, specifying that "other equipment will follow".
In June 2019, President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta concluded a military defense agreement with Russia.
"The intensification of military ties is in the interest of our two countries," then commented Sergei Choïgou, the Russian Defense Minister, stressing that Moscow wishes to contribute to "the creation of conditions for lasting peace and stability".
Tensions with France
If France observed the Russian re-engagement in Mali with a certain suspicion, the government had so far refrained from too much criticism considering the fight against terrorism as the ultimate priority.
Who is NATO's enemy?
Russia is no longer an enemy.
She remains a threat but is also a partner on certain subjects.
Our enemy today: international terrorism, and in particular Islamist terrorism.
- Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) December 4, 2019
But for Jean-Yves Le Drian, discussions on the deployment of Russian paramilitaries today constitute a red line: "Wagner is a militia (...). (They) have distinguished themselves in the past in Syria, in the Central African Republic, with exactions, predations, violations of all kinds which do not correspond to any solution, "declared the head of French diplomacy, letting the threat of a total withdrawal of French military support to Mali hover.
"This reaction sends back, in my opinion, an image of power which is more interested in controlling its home than in the fight against terrorism," said Niagalé Bagayoko. "On the side of the Malian junta, on the other hand, it is a masterstroke which allows to seduce a part of the opinion and to affirm the independence of the capacity. In this context where France prepares a gradual reduction of its military personnel, the Malians are playing on the Franco-Russian rivalry to raise the stakes. However, I think that this strategy has its limits because Russia has no interest in fighting terrorists in the Sahel. "
An analysis shared by Anastasiya Shapochkina: "Despite the rhetoric, Africa represents a marginal partner for Russia and Vladimir Putin has no desire to reproduce the mistakes of the past. By sending militias to French-speaking Africa, he wants above all to show a nuisance power so that France does not interfere in its internal affairs.This is why Russia uses a group like Wagner, controlled by the Kremlin, but which has no legal existence and does not represent, at This title, no commitment on the part of the power.It is a group that the West is right to be wary of because it is a mafia motivated by the greed whose record in the fight against terrorism is extremely questionable. "
Playing on words, Russia denies any involvement in talks: "There is no representative of the Russian armed forces there (...) and no official negotiations are underway", declared on September 16. , to the press, Dmitri Peskov, President Putin's spokesperson.
France has since launched a diplomatic offensive with the Malian authorities and somewhat softened its position.
"Our priority is to be able to continue the fight against terrorism and we hope that the conditions under which we launched it will not be changed in the future," said Defense Minister Florence Parly.
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