Five countries from the north African Sahel and the European Union are meeting Wednesday as the bloc prepares to impose sanctions on Mali and political turmoil roils Burkina Faso. The Europeans are deeply concerned about the activities of Russian mercenaries in the region.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell is in Brussels with the foreign ministers of Niger, Mali, Mauritania and Chad. Burkina Faso, which has been under the control of a military-led junta since Monday, will be represented by its ambassador, Jacqueline Marie Zaba Nikiema.
It is the seventh ministerial meeting of its kind among the EU and the G 5 Sahel group. No media access is allowed. Borrell won't take questions for agenda reasons, his office said.
The decision by Mali s interim government to delay elections due next month until 2026 is a big concern for the Europeans in the strategically important but unstable Sahel region, which has proved to be a fertile breeding ground for extremists.
The West African regional group ECOWAS has imposed tougher economic sanctions on Mali. The EU has set up a framework for imposing its own measures on the authorities for holding up the political transition but has not yet pulled the trigger.
Since 2012, Mali has struggled to contain an extremist insurgency. The rebels were forced out of power in northern cities with the help of a French military operation, but they regrouped in the desert and began attacking the Malian army and its allies.
Insecurity has worsened with attacks on civilians and UN peacekeepers. The EU plans to continue training the Mali Armed Forces despite the severe instability and political upheaval.
Before the EU moves on sanctions, Borrell said he wants to hear from Mali Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop.
He said the sanctions wouldn't be imposed before Wednesday because technical work on them has not been completed, but I honestly think that it wouldn't be the best way to welcome Diop on the eve of the G 5 meeting he or other members of his government. The interim government has accepted the presence of Russian mercenaries, the Wagner Group, according to the EU. Last month, the bloc slapped sanctions on eight people and three oil companies linked to the group, which are accused of rights abuses in the Central African RepublicAfrican Republic, Libya and Syria.
A report on the EU training mission said the consequences of the presence of the Wagner Group, including denial of access to Malian military bases, are already impacting EUTM activities and will certainly dictate an evolution of the EU's global posture in the short term. Burkina Faso's takeover by the Military Patriotic Movement for Safeguarding and Restoration this week is also high on the agenda.
Borrell called for calm in the country and urged the armed forces to remain faithful to their mission of protecting the population and defending the territory, while making known their demands in a non-violent manner.