PARIS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th February, 2022) French President Emmanuel Macron will meet with Sahel region partners on Wednesday to discuss his country's military presence in Mali, French Government spokesman Gabriel Attal told journalists.
Journal du Dimanche reported on Sunday that Macron may announce the end of Operation Barkhane and withdrawal from Mali in the coming days.
"The meeting in the Elysee palace between the republic's president and the leaders of the states that are our partners in countering terrorism in the Sahel region, will be held tomorrow evening. It's a new type of dialogue, which are we having with them to adapt our contingent to fight terrorism in Sahel. And then announcements will follow in the near future. It's a matter of days rather than weeks," Attal said at a briefing on Tuesday.
The spokesman added that the status quo is no longer possible "due to worsened circumstances in Mali after the junta's coup, the refusal to return to the democratic agenda announced earlier, and the use of Russian foreign mercenaries."
Moscow has repeatedly said that accusations against Russia of sending mercenaries to Mali are groundless and that Russia only provides military-technical assistance to Mali.
France launched the counterterrorism mission Barkhane in 2014 in the Sahel region. The mission involves forces of the G5 Sahel countries, including Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, and Mauritania. In summer 2021, Macron said that Operation Barkhane would be reformed into an international counterterrorist alliance. France began reducing its presence in Mali in December 2021.
