Mali Prime Minister Shogul Maiga accused France of abandoning his country in the middle of the road when it decided to withdraw the "Barkhane" force that helps Bamako in the face of "terrorist" groups, prompting his country to search for other partners, while Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that his country does not It is related to a possible deal between the Mali government and the Russian security company Wagner.

In a speech he delivered yesterday, Saturday, before the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Maiga expressed his regret for what he described as the unilateral declaration issued on the Barkhane force without tripartite coordination with the United Nations and the Malian government, and said that his country was seeking other military assistance “to fill the void that will surely result.” about the withdrawal of the Barkhane force from the north of the country.

Earlier this month, France began redeploying from bases in northern Mali, as part of the reconfiguration of its 5,000-strong Barkhane force, to include other European partners.


Russian statements

For his part, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said - Saturday in New York - that Mali had asked a Russian private military company to help it fight against armed groups in the country, and he was referring to the Russian Wagner Group, which reports say that the ruling military council in Mali is seeking to contract with it.

The Russian Information Agency quoted Lavrov as saying that the Russian government has nothing to do with this possible cooperation between Bamako and the Russian group that has deployed mercenaries in several countries, including Libya, Syria and Central Africa, and is accused of committing human rights violations.

"They are fighting terrorism. By the way, they have resorted to a private military company from Russia in light of the fact that France - as I understand - wants to significantly reduce its military presence there," the Russian minister added, speaking of the Malian military council.

Recently, it was reported that Mali's military-dominated government was close to contracting 1,000 militants from the Russian group, which reportedly has ties to the Kremlin.

Paris warned Bamako against contracting Russian mercenaries, saying that this is not in line with the continued French presence in this West African country, and the European Union also warned that this matter would affect relations between it and Mali.

A position rejecting such a deal was also issued by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).