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Defense Commissioner Eva Högl: "The reports about a possible deployment of Russian mercenaries in Mali raise questions"
Photo: Kay Nietfeld / dpa
Mali apparently wants the support of a notorious Russian mercenary force to train its army.
Should such cooperation come about, the Bundestag's defense commissioner called for talks about the "meaning and purpose" of the Bundeswehr mission in the country.
“The reports of a possible deployment of Russian mercenaries in Mali raise questions.
Should it come to that, we have to talk to our international partners and the Defense Committee about possible consequences, «said Eva Högl (SPD) to the newspapers of the Funke media group.
"We have to answer the question of whether the goal of ensuring stability in the country, among other things, is still realistic."
If Mali's cooperation with Russian mercenary groups is confirmed, Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (CDU) announced the consequences on Wednesday via Twitter together with the Bundestag.
Criticism for this came from the FDP foreign politician Alexander Graf Lambsdorff.
"After the Afghanistan disaster, the defense minister is now single-handedly questioning the Bundeswehr's mission in Mali," he told the editorial network in Germany.
He spoke of an affront to the Bundestag.
Compared to the Funke newspapers, he added: »The main objective of the Bundeswehr mission in Mali is to prevent the planning of terrorist attacks on European territory.
This realistic goal has been achieved so far. "
Notorious for missions in Libya and Syria
There are currently around 1200 Bundeswehr soldiers in the West African country for a UN mission and an EU training mission.
According to media reports, there should be an impending collaboration between the military junta and mercenaries from the Russian military company Wagner.
According to information from the capital Bamako, the leadership, which came to power after a coup, is primarily concerned with personal protection.
The Malian authorities admitted that talks were being held with the Russian group, but that "nothing has yet been signed".
Russia denied that there were negotiations on a military presence in Mali.
The Wagner group is notorious for its missions, including in Libya, Syria, eastern Ukraine and the Central African Republic.
Moscow denies any combat operations by Russian mercenaries.
asc / dpa / AFP