West Uses Ukraine to Achieve Geopolitical Goals in Africa – Mali’s Foreign Minister
Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop attends a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia, Friday, May 2
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. Mali is conducting a completely independent investigation into Ukraine’s ties to terrorists, but will request assistance from Russia if needed, Diop added.”If they [Mali’s judicial authorities] need assistance, they will ask for it. Our various agencies continue to work together to resolve this situation,” Diop said, adding that the country’s justice system is completely independent and capable of doing its job in conditions of full autonomy.There is no doubt about Ukraine’s involvement in cooperation with terrorists, the minister stressed.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. 
AfricaUkraine’s Involvement With Sahel Terrorists Not Surprising – Russian Foreign Ministry30 July, 23:07 GMTEarlier, 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. In August, the spokesman for Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence (GUR), andriy usov, first admitted but then denied that his country supplied the Malian insurgents with “information and more” to ambush Russia’s Wagner Group in Mali.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 in the African countries friendly to Moscow. 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.
