UNITED NATIONS, August 28. /TASS/. Russia will continue to extend comprehensive assistance to Mali and other African countries who are interested in it, Russian First Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Dmitry Polyansky said on Monday.
"We see more evidence that Russian-Malian cooperation, which is carried out at Bamako’s request and in strict compliance with the recognized norms of international law, as well as being Mali’s sovereign choice of international partners in the area of security, are keeping some of our former Western partners up at night," he said at a meeting of the UN Security Council. "They are suffering from obvious relapses of neocolonialism and are not ready to drop double standards. Of course, these countries could be helping the Malian authorities instead of seeking to discredit their efforts to ensure security and fight terrorism."
"But, regrettably, these countries are unable to cooperate with the countries of the Global South on an equal and respectful basis," the Russian diplomat noted. "That is why their phantom colonial pains are not worth any attention. Russia, on its part, will continue to offer assistance to Mali and other African countries on a bilateral, equal and mutually respectful basis.".