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Russia to continue assisting Mali in normalizing situation in country

On Friday, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution ending the peacekeeping mission to Mali

UNITED NATIONS, July 1. /TASS/. Russia will continue bilateral cooperation with Mali in order to normalize the situation in the country after the withdrawal of the UN peacekeeping mission, Russian Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Anna Yevstigneyeva said.

On Friday, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution ending the peacekeeping mission to Mali. The pullout of the mission is slated to be completed by December 31, 2023.

"On its part, Russia will continue to provide comprehensive assistance to Mali in order to normalize the situation in that country on a bilateral basis," she said. The diplomat added that the Russian side expressed its support for Mali in its "aspiration to assume full responsibility and play a leading role in stabilizing the state of Mali."

On June 16, Mali’s government requested the UN Security Council to immediately withdraw the peacekeepers of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA). The country’s Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop said that the UN peacekeepers were unable to ensure Mali’s security.

On June 20, Agence France-Presse reported that a court in Mali had opened a case over the government’s complaint accusing several MINUSMA employees of espionage. The lawsuit emphasized that the employees of the UN mission, while investigating the events in Moura in March 2022, were complicit in the crimes. The authorities accused the UN workers of espionage, damaging the prestige of Mali’s armed forces, using false documents and undermining national security.

MINUSMA was established in the spring of 2013 by a UN Security Council resolution to help Malian authorities bolster security in the country. It currently has more than 15,000 employees. More than 280 of its employees have been killed in Mali since 2013.