UK Foreign Office Calls On Mali To Reconsider Cooperation With Wagner Group

LONDON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th September, 2021) The UK Foreign Office has expressed concern over the Malian cooperation with the Wagner Group private military company and called on the African nation to reconsider these ties.

"The UK is deeply concerned by consultations between the Malian government and the organisation known as the Wagner Group, in which Yevgeniy Viktorovich Prigozhin holds a position of responsibility. Prighozin is subject to UK sanctions for significant foreign mercenary activity in Libya and multiple breaches of the UN arms embargo," the Foreign Office said in a statement on late Wednesday.

The Foreign Office believes that the company is a driver of conflicts and "capitalizes on instability for its own interests" in Libya and the Central� African Republic. From London's point of view, the Wagner Group commits human rights abuses and seeks control over mineral resources of the conflict-torn countries.

"We support ECOWAS in urging the Malian government to reconsider their engagement with Wagner in light of the implications that any deal would have on stability within its own borders and the wider region. The UK also reiterates the importance of the political transition in Mali and of elections being held within the agreed time frame," the Foreign Office added.

Earlier this month, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied Western media reports about a military deal reached between the Wagner Group and Bamako, saying that Moscow does not conduct official negotiations with the Malian government, including through the paramilitary group, and has no military presence in the western African nation.