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“Wagner”. Like a taboo, the name of this Russian private military company without official existence is carefully evaded by the Malian Prime Minister, Choguel Maïga. His speech before the podium of the United Nations General Assembly and his latest statements to the press, however, sound like confirmation of the discussions between his government and the very controversial company, described as the Kremlin’s occult army.
If France has not ceased, in recent days, to warn Bamako against the consequences of this possible security reorientation – the Minister of the Armed Forces, Florence Parly, went on September 20 to inform her counterpart of the “Serious incompatibility” between recourse to these mercenaries and Western support – Choguel Maïga has chosen to respond to threats with a justification marked by reproaches, an update without diplomatic precaution.
“The new situation created by the end of Operation Barkhane, placing Mali in front of a fait accompli and exposing it to a kind of abandonment in midair, leads us to explore ways and means to better ensure security. independently or with other partners ”, the prime minister said on Saturday September 25.
“I don’t know of a Wagner group”
While Paris maintains that the reduction in the number of its soldiers in the Sahel – a reduction of half of its 5,100 soldiers today deployed is planned by 2023 – does not respond to a redefinition of its priorities but to “A reconfiguration of its system”, Choguel Maïga does not hesitate to scratch the French authorities for their methods and their lack of consideration.
” The Mali, he said, regrets that the principle of consultation and concertation, which must be the rule between privileged partners, was not observed upstream of the decision of the French government ” to put an end to the operation “Barkhane”, transformed “In an international coalition whose outlines are not yet known, in any case not known to my country”.
Paris, as well as the countries of the European Union also worried about the follow-up to be given to their engagement in Mali, must have appreciated the comment, while a few moments earlier, Sergei Lavrov, the head of Russian diplomacy, had come to visit. offer at a press conference the pleasure of confirming that “The Malian authorities have turned to a private Russian military company”. Without forgetting the precision required: “We have nothing to do with it. “
According to the revelations made by the Reuters agency, the discussions centered on the sending of a thousand paramilitaries. But, according to the head of the transitional government, no agreement has been reached – so far. “I don’t know of a Wagner group. The day the Malian government signs an agreement, and certainly it will not be for long, it will be made public ”, he assured in an interview with Radio France international (RFI) and France 24.
Beyond the possible diplomatic games – the Malian leaders can take advantage of international rivalries to solicit a stronger commitment from their current partners and Moscow revel in the feverishness of the West at the announcement of the arrival of these sulphurous mercenaries in their area influence – a question arises, however: is Mali today on the verge of reversing its alliances and turning to Moscow?
With Paris, degraded relations
Cooperation, including military, between the two countries, is as old as the Malian independence, acquired in 1960. But as noted by a local observer, “If the Prime Minister’s remarks echo the nationalist discourse prevailing in Bamako and are above all intended to flatter part of the Malian opinion, there is a declared desire for strategic reorientation since the coup d’etat of August 2020”.
Incarnated in the first place by the Minister of Defense, Sadio Camara, trained in Russia, and revived by the arrival of Choguel Maïga, graduate of the Moscow Telecommunications Institute, at the head of the government after the second putsch of the colonels in May, this line in favor of greater Russian involvement has so far not translated into any meaningful engagement.
Whether or not it leads to the signing of a contract, the controversy over the possible arrival of Wagner’s paramilitaries will, in any event, have made it possible to measure the state of deterioration of relations between Mali and the United States. France. For six years, Paris has been impatient to see Bamako apply the peace agreement signed with the former rebels in the North, is annoyed at the lack of involvement of the Malian leaders in the redeployment of the state and is now worried about ” a probable extension of the transition period beyond the deadline set for February 27, 2022.
By inviting its international partners to show “Much more understanding and pragmatic” and not to take offense to “A few more weeks, even a few more months” which will, according to him, not “Fall back into a crisis that puts us in uncertainty”, Choguel Maïga did nothing to allay this last fear. The differences between Bamako and its European allies but also with its Sahelian neighbors, primarily Niger, are however deeper.
Before the United Nations, the head of the Malian government ruled that despite the international support he enjoys, “From March 2012 to September 25, 2021 when I am addressing you from this august platform, the situation in my country has hardly improved”. The extension of the jihadist threat far beyond northern Mali and the community violence that has been grafted to it can only confirm this observation of failure.
All parties recognize the limits of the fight against terrorism as it is being waged, but whose fault is it? In the absence of a solution, the easiest thing is to place the responsibility on your partner.