The visit by Russia’s Sergei Lavrov will strengthen cooperation between Bamako and Moscow.
On Thursday, the Malian Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Russian ambassador to Bamako, Igor Gromyko came to hand over to Abdoulaye Diop the invitation to the President of the Malian transition, Assimi Goïta to the Russia-Africa summit scheduled for July 2023 in Sochi.
At the same time, the diplomat announced to his host the upcoming visit of Sergei Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation to Mali, without specifying the date.
Russia, the ”safe ally”
This announced visit will mark a further step in the rapprochement between Mali and Russia, within the context of an ongoing diplomatic crisis between Bamako and Paris.
The junta in power following the May 2021 coup against the transitional president Bah N’daw, has strengthened its cooperation with the Kremlin to “fill the void” left by France, accused of “abandoning the fight against the insurgency led by jihadist groups for a decade.
In the wake of this, the Malian authorities called in “instructors” considered by their Western partners as “mercenaries” from the controversial Russian military company, Wagner.
End of Barkhane
Last January, the tug of war between Paris and Bamako took a new turn when the Malian authorities denounced the military agreements that had linked their country to France since 2013, thanks to the Serval intervention, and asked the French soldiers to leave Malian territory without delay.
French President Emmanuel Macron had said that France would withdraw “in good order” and would not compromise on the safety of its soldiers.
On Wednesday 9 November, he announced the official end to the Barkhane operation even if the French army will remain in the Sahel in a “lighter” format, responding to “the expression of explicit needs from the African armies.”
AC/te/lb/as/APA