Row in the Russian group Wagner. EU foreign minister warns France threatens world news

EU foreign minister Josep Borrell has warned that the EU’s relations with Mali could be seriously damaged if the country allows confidentiality. Russian military contractors operate on their land.

France threatens to withdraw its forces from Mali

France earlier threatened to withdraw its forces from Mali, after reports emerged of the possibility of rank-and-file cooperation in Bamako with a Russian military company called the Wagner Group. The company has a paramilitary force which, according to Paris, has committed repeated violations and crimes in the past. For eight years, French forces have been carrying out an anti-terrorist operation in the Sahel – an area located on the southern edge of the Sahara, stretching from Senegal to Sudan – via Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad and Eritrea. .

Paris expressed concern at reports of possible cooperation between the Malian authorities and the Russian group Wagner. “If this information is confirmed, it will be extremely worrying, contradictory and inconsistent with the measures we took years ago and which we wish to pursue in the Sahel countries,” said Minister of National Defense Florence Parly. French MSZ leader Jean-Yves Le Drian warned that the Russian group’s involvement in Mali “contradicts the presence of French forces in the country”.

Belarus. The arrested Wagnerists had tickets to Turkey. Interfere with services

Wagner Group. Malian authorities confirm this

Financial authorities have confirmed that they are in talks with the Russian company. According to media reports, the Wagner group will send more than a thousand Russian mercenaries to Bamako. In this case, Paris would immediately withdraw its troops from the country, warned French diplomats. According to them, the Wagner group is mandated by the Kremlin and has been carrying out anti-French propaganda in Africa for several months.

Currently, more than 5,000 French soldiers are stationed in the Sahel. in June, French President Emmanuel Macron announced the reduction of the military presence after a military coup in Mali.

Libya. A tablet containing confidential data was found in the foreground