Malian authorities have not signed any contracts with Russian private military companies, Malian Foreign Minister, Abdoulaye Diop said on Thursday, slamming claims on the matter as a smear campaign.
“As for our cooperation with a private military company, we have already discussed this directly with our French colleagues.
“ I confirmed that no contracts in this area were signed,’’ Diop said at a press conference following negotiations with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
“No contracts have been signed so far. Anyway, these claims fit into the general smear campaign against Mali,’’ Diop added. (Sputnik/NAN).
