Putin answered the question about the Russian PMC in Mali: Politics: Russia: Lenta.ru
Russian President Vladimir Putin, during a speech at the plenary session at the XVIII annual meeting of the Valdai Club, answered a question about private military companies (PMCs) in Mali. The correspondent of “Lenta.ru” informs about it.
The head of state acknowledges that PMCs may be present in Mali. At the same time, they “do not reflect the interests of the Russian state, and if they are somewhere, they are not on behalf of the Russian state,” he points out. He drew attention to the fact that this is “private business, private interests, including those associated with blocks of energy resources, other resources – gold, precious stones.”
The Russian leader comes into conflict with the interests of the Russian state.
In early October, the Turkish edition of Clash Report reported on the growth of the presence of PMC Wagner in some African countries. At the same time, the French special forces that are participating in the anti-terrorist operation “Barkhan” in the Sahel zone did not find signs of the presence of Wagner PMCs in Mali.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov states that Mali turned to the PMC because France intends to reduce the military contingent, which is supposed to fight terrorism in the north of the country, but official Moscow has nothing to do with this cooperation. The head of the Malian transitional government, Shogel Kokalla Maiga, cited reports of instructions in Russian military vehicles as part of a disinformation campaign.