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Two attack helicopters from the Minusma military mission (archive image)
Photo: Marc Tessensohn / dpa
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has confirmed that the authorities in Mali, West Africa, have contacted a private Russian military company.
"You have turned to a private military company from Russia," Lavrov said, according to the Interfax agency, at a press conference on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
"As I understand it, in connection with the fact that France would like to significantly reduce its military contingent that was there and (...) should fight terrorists."
In France and other western countries, reports of the possible deployment of troops from the Russian mercenary company Wagner in Mali had recently caused great concern.
In Germany there were increasing voices to review the Bundeswehr deployment in the African crisis state in such a case.
Lavrov emphasized that he saw no responsibility for the Russian government in this matter: “We have nothing to do with it.
These are commercial contracts between a recognized, legitimate government and those who provide foreign military aid ”.
Lavrov did not directly mention the name Wagner.
Mali's government recently spoke of "rumors"
Mali's government announced about a week ago that the alleged plans to hire the Russian mercenary company Wagner were merely rumors.
According to information from the capital Bamako, the leadership, which came to power through a coup, is primarily concerned with its own personal protection.
Around 900 men and women from Germany are involved in the UN Minusma mission to stabilize Mali.
Around 300 German soldiers are also in the country for the EUTM training mission, which has been running since 2013 and which, according to its own information, has trained 15,000 Malian soldiers so far.
The success is considered to be moderate, in Mali there is already a lack of bookkeeping, where soldiers, wages and weapons have remained.
tfb / dpa / Reuters