Mali’s military ruler arrived on Sunday for a visit to Russia, whose help the West African country has sought in fighting its long-running insurgent threat since seizing power.
Under General Assimi Goita, who came to power after back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021, Mali has turned away from the West and its former colonial master France in particular in favour of closer ties with Moscow.
Goita’s visit comes shortly after Russia’s paramilitary Wagner group, which has been on the ground helping the Malian army since 2021, announced it would leave the country, to be replaced by its successor Africa Corps.
Both mercenary forces have been tools of Russia in its search to broaden its influence across the continent, though the Kremlin has always denied being behind Wagner.
After arriving in Moscow on Sunday morning, General Goita is due to meet Russia’s President Vladimir Putin on Monday, according to Mali’s state broadcaster ORTM.
Lasting until June 26, the visit “will be an occasion to talk about the creative ties between Bamako and Moscow centred on several areas including security, energy and transport”, according to the ORTM.
With the rise of a paramilitary force that analysts say is controlled by the Kremlin, Russia is openly expanding its state military footprint in Africa, after years of distancing itself from mercenaries deployed on the continent to support pro-Russian rulers.
Russia is using the Africa Corps force to increase its influence in particular in francophone West Africa where the presence of former colonial master France is dwindling.
Africa Corps, which is believed to be run by the Russian defence ministry, is stepping up its presence and filling the gap left by Wagner, the mercenary group founded by the late Yevgeny Prigozhin, which announced its departure from Mali in early June.
The Kremlin always denied it was behind Wagner, whose founder died in a plane crash in 2023 after earlier that year leading his fighters in an unprecedented but short-lived rebellion where they advanced towards Moscow.
