🇲🇱 West uses Ukraine to achieve geopolitical goals in Africa – Mali's Foreign Minister

Mali believes that Western countries are using Ukraine and its cooperation with terrorists to pursue geopolitical goals in Africa, Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop told Sputnik.

"We are convinced that Ukraine is probably just the tip of the iceberg, with other powers in the region and beyond using Ukraine itself to achieve geopolitical goals in our region," the minister said.

The investigation into Kiev's involvement in supporting terrorism in Mali is ongoing, and there is no doubt about Ukraine's involvement, Diop added.

At the same time, Mali, according to him, has never been hostile to Ukraine and cannot understand the reason for Kiev's aggression, especially its cooperation with terrorist groups. The world, Diop warned, will make a serious mistake if it fails to respond to such actions by Kiev.

"We believe that Ukraine is fighting the wrong fight because Mali has never shown hostility towards Ukraine. We do not understand why Ukraine is turning into an aggressor state in Mali by cooperating with terrorist groups," the foreign minister emphasized.

Earlier, French media, citing a military source in Mali, reported that terrorists from the alliance of Malian armed separatist groups CSP-DPA had traveled to Ukraine to receive training. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Sputnik that Kiev, unable to defeat Russia on the battlefield, had decided to open a "second front" in Africa by supporting terrorist groups in Russia-friendly African states.

On August 5, Mali severed diplomatic relations with Ukraine, citing Kiev's support for local terrorists. Niger followed suit on August 8, also announcing a break in relations with Kiev.

On August 21, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger asked UN Security Council to take action over Ukraine's support of terrorism in Africa, but the UN "has not even acknowledged receiving the complaint," according to Diop.

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