Paris. September 14. INTERFAX-French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has threatened that Paris will withdraw the military from Mali if mercenaries from the private military company Wagner start working in this African country.
"This is completely incompatible with our military presence," French television quoted the minister as saying, commenting on the possibility of concluding an agreement between the Malian authorities and the Wagner PMC.
"The actions of a group of this kind in Mali would be incompatible with the actions of international partners in Mali," added Le Drian, who spoke in the French parliament.
In turn, French Defense Minister Florence Parly noted that such a presence of mercenaries in Mali would be " extremely disturbing and contradictory."
TV5 explains that according to sources in Paris, the Malian authorities are discussing the possibility of an agreement with the Wagner PMC, under which the mercenaries will train Malian military personnel, as well as ensure the security of the country's leaders.
At the same time, as the TV channel explains, in Mali itself they recognized that they are conducting such negotiations, but they have not signed any agreements yet.
In July 2021, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that the French military command would close some of its bases in Mali by the end of the year.
We are talking about military personnel located in the cities of Kidal, Tombuktu and Tesalit.
