As part of a tour on the African continent, the Russian Foreign Minister was on Tuesday in Bamako, while military cooperation between the two countries is in full swing.
By Cyril Bensimon
Sergei Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister, concluded, on Tuesday, February 7, a “friendship and work visit” of a day in Bamako, Mali, each party of which seems to have only reasons for be satisfied. Carried out as part of a tour on the African continent which led him first in South Africa, Eswatini (ex-Swaziland), Angola and Eritrea, this first trip of a chief of Russian diplomacy In Mali, despite the long tradition of cooperation between the two countries (notably under the presidency of Modibo Keïta, from 1960 to 1968), had a particular symbolic value. Bamako has been the most incandescent point of Russian presence in Africa for a little over a year.
For the Malian putschist colonels, the arrival of Mr. Lavrov is an obvious mark of consideration, which testifies to their opinion of the solidity of their relationship with Moscow, which has become their first partner since their second coup, in May 2021, and the rupture with France which he trained. For Russia, this visit makes it possible to amplify its regional seduction operation when the junta in power in neighboring Burkina Faso shows signs of attraction for the pro-Russian turn made by Bamako and where the promises of the Kremlin find an echo Growing up in Africa, first of all in the Sahel. A significant image success at a time when the United States, like China, are making efforts to court the continent in a context of recomposition of international relations.
displaying a perfect complicity with his counterpart Abdoulaye Diop, who did not fail to thank his guest for his support “against the terrorists and their foreign sponsors”, Mr. Lavrov placed, as soon as he got off the plane, the Foundations of friendship between the two countries under the sign of “the defense of justice on the international scene, aggressively trampled on”. During a joint press conference, the Malian diplomacy chief has focused on “the comparative advantage” of “this cooperation which is made on the basis of demands” of his country and without will to Mount “part of the Malians against others”. Everyone will have recognized the targets here: Westerners in the broad sense, France in particular.
Wagner would have between 1,500 and 2,000 men in Mali
If Russian-Malian partnerships in the fields of agriculture, mines, infrastructure or energy remain to be built, military cooperation between the two countries is in full swing. In recent months, Moscow has delivered combat helicopters to Bamako, fighter planes -including Sukhoï 25 -, Sol -Air missiles and radar systems.
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