Mali’s Foreign Minister defended the military government’s cooperation with Russia on Friday and rejected three options proposed by the UN chief to reconfigure the UN peacekeeping force in the west African country where Al-Qaeda and Islamic State extremist groups are driving insecurity.
Abdoulaye Diop told the UN Security Council that security is the country’s top priority and Mali will not continue to justify its partnership with Russia, which is providing training and equipment to the military. He did not mention Russia’s Wagner Group, the private military contractor with ties to the Kremlin.
But Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ internal review released this week of the 17,500-strong UN mission, known as MINUSMA, noted that Mali’s longstanding security partnership with France and others deteriorated over concerns about Wagner Group personnel operating in support of the Malian armed forces, which he said Russian officials have publicly acknowledged.