Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has promised continued military support for Mali, which has been battling a jihadist insurgency since 2012.
Last year, Mali turned its back on former colonial power France favouring help from Russia instead.
This is the foreign minister’s second visit to Africa in two weeks.
Russia aims to shore up allies as the Ukraine war continues, but its involvement in West Africa pre-dates that and has been growing over time.
Mr Lavrov, who is on a two-day trip to Mali, outlined Moscow’s ambition to provide military backing for governments across West Africa in the battle against Islamist militants.
Mali’s military government has batted away criticism of this shift to Russia.
“We will no longer justify our choice of partner. Russia is here on demand by Mali and responds efficiently to our strategic needs,” Mali’s Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop said during a joint press briefing with his Russian counterpart.
It is now more than a year since Wagner Group fighters began operating in Mali, though the authorities have never formally confirmed this.
But evidence suggests that they have not been any more successful than other forces in dealing with the decade-long jihadist threat and insecurity may have worsened.
Civilian casualties as a result of violence more than doubled last year, according to data from the crisis mapping organisation Acled Info.
