Russia pledges military support to Mali

BAMAKO, Mali

Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday that Russia will continue helping Mali improve its military capabilities, a partnership that has prompted Western concern.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is welcomed by his Malian counterpart Abdoulaye Diop as he arrives for a two-day visit in Bamako

The Lavrov statement affirms many Western analysts' perspective that Moscow seeks to use Mali as its base for projecting military and diplomatic power over West Africa.

Mali says Russian forces inside its nation are not mercenaries but trainers helping local troops with equipment bought from Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said last year that the Russian state had nothing to do with Russian military contractors working in Mali, adding that the African country had the right to work with private Russian firms.

Western governments are worried about the involvement in Mali of Russian private military contractor Wagner, which is also fighting alongside the Russian army in Ukraine.

United Nations experts last week called for an independent investigation into possible war crimes and crimes against humanity by Malian government forces and Wagner.

Russian news agency RIA quoted Lavrov as saying that Moscow hoped to start delivering wheat, fertilisers and oil products to Mali soon.

Lavrov has visited a series of African countries recently as Moscow, hit by Western sanctions over its war in Ukraine, seeks to deep trade ties and strategic partnerships elsewhere.