Saturday 22 January 2022
Islamabad news advertisment DW newspaper۔ January 22, 2022 - German Defense Minister Christina Lambrescht tells the German daily De Welt that the military mission in Mali will not end. According to the Social Democrat politician, Europe will not allow Russia to retreat from any position.
The minister added in an interview for Sunday's edition of De Welt that Russia would not be allowed to play openly.
The DPA has received a copy of the interview, according to which Lambresht commented on the financial mission and said that Germany would not back down.
Mali's military-backed interim government recently acknowledged that Russian military trainers had been called in to control extremism in the country.
It is reported that the company has been given the same mandate, which was earlier assigned to the training mission of the European Union.
However, Mali's military has not yet confirmed that Wagner, a Russian private military company, is active in the West African country.
However, Germany, France and Britain have accused the Malian government of colluding with Russian company Wagner's assassins. The European Union also imposed sanctions on the company on December 13, 2021, for provoking citizens and engaging in acts of violence.
German Defense Minister Lambrecht called on the Malian government to "improve the conditions of the German military mission if it wants it to remain active in the country."
According to Lambresht, there should be no restrictions on the movement of troops in Mali and they will also need to be protected from drone strikes. He further added that the financial government has been assured that elections in the country cannot be suspended for five years.
In an interview with De Welt, the German defense minister made it clear that the Russian private company Wagner had committed serious human rights abuses and that co-operation with it was unacceptable.
A / B H (DPA)
