BY OWN CORRESPONDENT
During the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, took place in the second half of September, many interesting meetings took place.
The leaders of many states spoke from the main international rostrum and outlined the problems that concerned them.
So the presidents of South Africa, Botswana and Kenya reminded the Western world that its policy toward Zimbabwe was counterproductive.
They called for the immediate lifting of the illegal sanctions imposed on Harare.
But it seems that these words have not been heard in Washington and other capitals of the US allies.
The Western continues act without regard to the opinion and position of other states, violate and bypass the norms of international law.
At the same time, unilateral decisions are made, the consequences of which are reflected in the fate of other peoples, countries and regions.
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The most striking example is both the US military intervention in Afghanistan in 2001 and the hasty withdrawal of American troops from the country in August this year.
The consequences of the rash unilateral actions by Washington and its allies have yet to be grasped.
These are the flows of Afghan refugees and the coming to power of the militant radical Taliban and the destabilisation of the situation both in Asia and in the world as a whole.
France has gone not very far from the United States.
Operation Вarkhane, а Paris-led military campaign against Islamist insurgents in Mali that started in 2014 is set to wrap up early next year.
Announcing the end of the operation back in July, French President Emmanuel Macron said that it would draw to а close “in an orderly fashion”
But the Malian Prime Minister Choguel Kokalla Maiga indicated that this was far from the case.
He claimed that France kept the Malian authorities in the dark about its intentions, and made the decision without any prior consultation with Bamako.
“The new situation resulting from the end of Operation Barkhane puts Mali before а fait accompli – abandoning us, mid-flight to а certain extent,” Maiga said as he addressed the United Nations General Assembly.
Noting that the security situation in Mali has “scarcely improved” since the 2012 military соuр, despite the presence of UN peacekeepers and international forces, including the French troops, Maiga said that the country had to resort to third parties for assistance.
“[The situation] leads us to explore pathways and means to better ensure our security autonomously, or with other partners to fill the gap, which will certainly result from the withdrawal of Barkhane from the north of the country.”
In the mass media accusations about Bamako’s intentions to hire around 1,000 mercenaries from the Russian Wagner Group began to circulate.
The Wagner Group gained notoriety after providing successful mercenary work in Syria and а handful of African countries.
The group has also reportedly carried out training, security, and counterterrorist tasks in Sudan, the Central African Republic, Madagascar and Mozambique.
All this successful work of the private military company was carried out by private contracts with governments of those countries.
The reasons, according to which countries are forced to invite the private military contractor, are the inability and unwillingness of the Western partners to create order and restore peace.
At the same time, it is surprising that the main accusations against the Wagner Group come from the US and the United Kingdom.
From countries, which private military companies, such as G4S, Aegis, Academi are contracted by the US Department of Defense and the CIA to carry out black military works all over the world.
And no one asks for permission of the governments of the states where American and British mercenaries are being sent.
They simply invade other countries and behave like masters there, fulfilling the goals of protecting the interests of those who sent them there, which are Washington, London, Paris and Brussels.
Although the planned security contract between the Mali government and the Wagner Group is a deal between the government and a private company and is aimed at countering terrorism, it has drawn strong criticism from France and the European Union.
The main accusations fell on the Russian leadership.
Moscow has been accused of interfering in the area of French and European interests.
That is, it turns out that the Europeans, primarily the French, openly confirm that Mali is their zone of interests, or rather a colony.
And they can master it.
And other countries should not even approach Bamako, even if they intend to assist the Malian government in establishing peace and order.
Proof of this is in the outcome of a meeting between the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell and the Russian Foreign minister Sergey Lavrov during the United Nations General Assembly.
Responding to questions from journalists, the Russian minister cited Borrell’s words spoken to him at the time of negotiation “ You would better not work in Africa because Africa is our place.”
Lavrov called Borrell’s warning “deeply insulting.”
He added that Moscow and the EU should instead “work in sync in Africa, in Mali, in the Sahara/Sahel region.”
“Statements like “I’m the first here. That’s my place – go away”, this is deeply insulting. These aren’t terms you should use with anyone,” Lavrov said.
At the same time, the Foreign minister dismissed accusations of Russian government involvement, saying that the Kremlin had “nothing to do with the deal, which was negotiated between Mali’ s government and а private military contractor.”
“Mali has been seeking outside help since the assistance from its foreign backers ran out, and because its government considers its own resources to be inefficient,” he said.
As for the Kremlin, Russia has been officially and openly providing assistance in the form of military hardware and diplomatically, through the UN Security Council.
At the same time, China is also accused of interfering in the zone of European interests in Africa.
According to politicians from the European Union, Beijing by sending its soldiers to UN peacekeeping missions on the continent with an aim to influence African countries.
In such а case, аnу government that makes efforts within the UN to combat international terrorism and extremism can be blamed for interference in the internal affairs of other states.
So, geopolitics and colonial ambitions seemingly still reign in Brussels and in Paris, with the fight this time over influence in Mali and the Sahara/Sahel region in general.
