Russia says that African affairs should not be meddled in by French President Emmanuel Macron, who shot back, accusing Moscow of predatory tactics.
Russia Stresses Africa Be Left Independent of Influence
In a news briefing on Thursday, Maria Zakharova, the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, stated that Africa could express its feelings, criticizing what it calls a neo-colonialist mentality, reported Anadolu.
Macron claims that Moscow is engaging in a predatory-style strategy in Africa. All countries are sovereign and independent, and each has the liberty to carry out their own internal and external policies and the freedom to forge bilateral relationships, Zakharova says.
Furthermore, why is a representative from Paris speaking on behalf of the African continent? They noted that Moscow wanted to assist states on the continent in speaking for themselves without anyone claiming to speak on their behalf.
Zakharova continued by saying that as not their chosen representatives. France had no right to make decisions or mediate for Africa. They are free to choose their relationships with others, calling the French President to account.
Zakharova mentioned that African nations have been suffering the yoke of colonizers who don't want to let go. They now have liberty and freedom not dictated by the West, which irks former colonial masters like Macron.
Russia Accused of Predatory Tactics
Zakharova added that former colonizers could not accept that their influence in African affairs is gone, replaced by a free African continent.
Ken McCallum, the director-general of M15, a UK domestic spy agency, asserts that 400 of the 600 Russian diplomats expelled from Europe are infiltrators. She advised journalists to discover the British government, including an embassy there.
Central Asia News noted how many British intelligence officers, spies, and recruited spies are continuing to operate in Russia. Zakharova dared the west not to speak of others if they could not tell who they were.
Mali Blacklists NGOs Funded by Paris
Mali's military regime has placed a ban on the operations of NGOs financially backed or endorsed by France, the latest intensification in an expanding rift between the two countries, citing Alarabiya.
Based on a statement from the acting Prime Minister Col. Abdoulaye Maiga, late on Monday, the transitional government decided to prohibit, to immediate effect, all activities that are carried out by NGOs functioning in Mali with financing or substance or tech service from France, even in the humanitarian sector.
Earlier, a French Foreign Ministry statement issued last week had accused the Junta of allying itself with the Russian Wagner military contractors. Maiga called it preposterous. He contended that the move was taken in reaction to France's recent decision to halt supplying aid money to Mali, mentioned MenaFN.
The Mali official says that the end of assistance via a French junta dehumanizes in exchange for aid. Maiga called it blackmail because Paris supported a terror group in the region.
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