At the end of her two-day visit to the Sahel, the French Defense Minister warned Bamako that hiring paramilitary forces from the Russian private security firm Wagner would lead to the country's international isolation.
Earlier, Florence Parly told reporters that Mali is hiring private traders at a time when its international partners are fighting Islamic terrorists in the Sahel.
Her meeting with her Malian counterpart, Colonel Sadio Camara, followed another warning to Bamako from its former colonial master – why the government of Mali, where there are its own armed forces, intends to hire 1,000 fighters from Wagner's paramilitary formations from Russia, the military-Industrial Complex notes with reference to Radio France Internationale, broadcast a few days ago.
However, a spokesman for the Malian Defense Ministry said: Kamara assured Parly that a decision on Wagner's people has not yet been made.
Later, the Russian media reported with reference to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during a briefing at the UN that the government of Mali asked for help from a private military company from Russia in the fight against terrorism, and the Russian authorities have nothing to do with this cooperation.
