The situation in Mali is escalating, with the country's authorities remaining one-on-one with terrorist groups, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Oleg Syromolotov said.
"Now the situation is still escalating, including in Mali. The French are completing Operation Barkhane and are evacuating their troops from three bases. The European Task Force Takuba also has no prospects, it is falling apart. The Malian authorities are being left alone with the terrorist groups," he said at a roundtable discussion in the Federation Council on "International cooperation in combating global challenges and threats, including the arms control crisis".
In 2014, France launched Operation Barkhane, an anti-terrorist operation in the region. This mission is supported by the regional structure of the G5, created the same year. The goal of the operation in the Sahara-Sahel region (Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, and Chad) is to combat terrorism and stabilize the situation to the point where local authorities can ensure security themselves. In the summer of 2021, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that Paris would change the model of its military presence in the Sahel: Operation Barkhane in its current form would end and be replaced by an international alliance that would include countries in the region and other partners.
GSV "Russia - Islamic world"
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Based on materials from RIA Novosti