Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop said that France's halting of the Barkhane military operation has affected plans to spread security in the country, while French President Emmanuel Macron will meet today in Paris with the leaders of the European partner countries in the joint force to combat terrorism in the Sahel to discuss the future of the presence of this force in Mali, in light of expectations that Macron will announce the withdrawal of his forces from Mali.
The Finance Minister added - in an interview with Al Jazeera - that his country's request from Paris to review the security agreement with it "comes to protect the sovereignty and rights of Mali."
Regarding relations between Bamako and the Russian "Wagner" group, the Malian foreign minister said that his government had nothing to do with this group, indicating that talking about this relationship aims to "pit international forces against us."
France and the European and American partners blame the ruling military council in Mali for delaying the return of civilians to power, and for seeking the help of the "Wagner Group", which the council denies doing.
On the other hand, the Finance Minister said that after a dialogue between his government and the leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the political transition period requested by Mali's military rulers to hand over power to civilians had been reduced from 5 years to 4.
The ECOWAS group imposed last month a package of severe economic and diplomatic sanctions on Mali;
In response to the military council's desire to remain in power for several years.
The Malian army seized power in the country in June 2021, and Chogel appointed Kokala Maiga as prime minister, and the Bamako authorities pledged to hold elections after 5 years.
meeting in paris
In a related context, French government spokesman Gabriel Attal said on Tuesday that President Macron will meet today, Wednesday, with the heads of "partner countries" at the Elysee to discuss the French military presence in the Sahel region, especially in Mali.
Forces from the French army have been deployed in northern Mali since 2013 with the aim of restoring security. However, the tense relationship between Bamako and Paris in the past few months prompted the ruling military council in Mali to pressure towards ending the presence of French forces in the country.
The French government spokesman added that the issue was "not French financially," explaining, "We have given our presence in the Sahel a European character, with the support of 12 European countries that joined us," noting that "decisions must be taken through this consultative work with all partners."
Barkhane process
The French news agency reported that, according to identical sources, the French President is scheduled to announce this evening, Wednesday, or tomorrow, Thursday, the withdrawal of French forces in Mali from Operation Barkhane to combat terrorism, on the occasion of a summit between the European Union and the African Union in the Belgian capital, Brussels.
It is scheduled to withdraw the "European Takoba Group of Special Units", which was formed at the initiative of France in 2020, and aims to stand by the Malian army in the face of armed groups, especially in the north of the country.