Security in Mali is not an issue between France and Mali, but between European countries and the Sahel, according to the French Foreign Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, who spoke on Tuesday 25 January at the request of MEPs on the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs.
He was speaking in the aftermath of the coup in Burkina Faso and on the eve of the joint meeting with the foreign ministers of the G5 Sahel countries, convened on Wednesday 26 January by the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, to give diplomacy a chance and obtain clarification on the conditions under which the European mission in Mali is being carried out before imposing targeted sanctions on that country (see EUROPE 12875/2).
“Under our Presidency [of the EU Council], we will ensure that this dialogue can continue and lead to progress. Tomorrow, the High Representative will host the G5 Sahel Foreign Ministers. The European presence in the Sahel is not only a political presence, it is also a military presence, since there are now ten countries in the Takuba Force”, said Mr Le Drian.
He denied that the French presence in the region had failed, saying that “Mali would otherwise have become a jihadist state” and recalling that elections had been held in 2013 and 2018.
He went on: “But since jihadist impulses have developed, the issue is no longer just between France and Mali, but between European countries and the Sahel, for their own security and sovereignty”.
Mr Le Drian also rejected any idea of French interference, saying that if France went to Mali, “it was because Mali asked for it, and that it was validated by the UN”. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)