International sanctions against Mali have been lifted following Russia's veto in the UN Security Council (UNSC), and there are no valid justifications for extending the sanctions regime. This statement was made in a commentary released on the official website of the Russian Foreign Ministry by Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson of the diplomatic agency.
"It's important to underline that the imposition of restrictive measures was initiated by the council in 2017 upon the request of the Bamako government, serving as a safeguard for the enforcement of the Algiers Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation in Mali, dated May 15, 2015," - noted the Russian MFA. - "Mali has substantiated its present appeal to terminate the sanctions by demonstrating that conflicts between the parties to the Algiers Agreement are no longer observed. Hence, there exists no rationale for the continuation of the sanctions regime."
The foreign ministry highlighted that the Russian delegation "cast a negative vote against the draft resolution presented by France and the UAE to the council, as it did not consider Bamako's standpoint regarding the necessity for a complete removal of sanctions." "In response, we adopted a constructive stance and put forth an alternative text outlining the eventual lifting of restrictions within a year. Unfortunately, this proposal did not garner backing from the UN Security Council member states. Consequently, international sanctions against Mali have now been lifted," the ministry further stated.
The diplomat also underscored that the Russian Federation operates on the principle of "acknowledging the importance of considering the viewpoint of the host nation, as without its collaboration, the productive functioning of expert groups within the council's subsidiary bodies becomes unfeasible." "Russia remains committed to paying utmost attention to the stances and appeals of African nations during the UN Security Council's deliberations concerning their sanctions-related matters," the spokesperson of the Russian MFA concluded.
On August 30th, the UN Security Council reviewed the potential extension of the international sanctions regime targeting Mali.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS