President Vladimir Putin of Russia, on Tuesday, dissociated his country from Russian military contractors, Wagner Group, operating in Mali, Reuters has reported.
However, Mr Putin added that Mali has the right to work with private Russian firms.
Speaking at a news conference after talks with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, Mr Putin said there were no complaints from Mali over the Russian military contractors’ activity in the West African country.
However, France is strongly opposed to mercenary activity there.
The Russian private military contractor is helping the Malian government combat the activities of jihadists.
According to Al Jazeera, Wagner was first seen in Mali by AFP at the end of 2019 when a small team was identified in the capital Bamako just after Boubacar Keita, the ousted president, signed a military cooperation deal with Russia.
In January, Jean-Yves Le Drian, France foreign minister, accused Wagner Group of plundering Mali’s resources.
“They are already at the moment helping themselves to the country’s resources in exchange for protecting the junta. They are despoiling Mali,” he told the Journal du Dimanche newspaper.
“Wagner uses the weakness of certain states to implant itself… to reinforce Russia’s influence in Africa,” he said, adding that they are “former Russian soldiers, armed by Russia and accompanied by Russian logistics.”
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Wagner gained prominence in 2014 when it was fighting with pro-Russian separatists in the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Since then, the group has become active in the Middle East as well as in Central and Southern Africa.
It is believed to be funded by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a rich businessman with links to President Putin. Mr Prigozhin has always denied any connection with Wagner.
The Russian government also denies any state involvement with the group while also maintaining it does not legally exist because private military contractors are illegal in Russia.
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