Lavrov vows aid for W Africa fight militia
By Story Agencies, February 10, 2023Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has pledged assistance to West African states battling armed groups, as Moscow seeks to expand its influence on a continent in a diplomatic tug-of-war between global powers.
Lavrov on Tuesday hailed the alliance that has been forged between Moscow and Bamako in fighting armed groups on his first visit to Mali, which Russia’s top diplomat described as “historic”.
“The fight against terrorism is, of course, an issue for the other countries in the region,” Lavrov told a news conference in the capital, Bamako.
“We are going to provide our assistance to them to overcome these difficulties. This concerns Guinea, Burkina Faso and Chad and the Sahel region generally and even the coastal states on the Gulf of Guinea,” he said.
Mali had long relied on former colonial power France for military assistance in fighting the armed uprising. But Paris pulled troops out of the West African nation last year as tensions with the military government reached a breaking point.
Since seizing power in 2020, Mali’s military government has brought in Russian planes, helicopters and paramilitaries to strengthen its fight against armed rebels.