In his interview on Italian television, the foreign minister clarified some points about the Russian mercenary group close to the Kremlin

Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov mentions Wagner group's presence in Libya

photo_camera French Army vía AP - The French military claims to have videos of Russian mercenaries burying corpses near a military base in northern Mali.

"Wagner is a private company and has nothing to do with the Russian state," said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in his interview with Mediaset. The head of Putin's diplomacy repeats the official version for the Kremlin with regard to the mercenary group close to the power in Moscow, which acts as Putin's advance guard in Africa. 

Minister Lavrov commented that Wagner creates particular "nervousness" among European ministers. "My dear colleague Jean-Yves Le Drian (French foreign minister), as well as Josep Borrell (EU high representative for foreign affairs) , in September 2021, told me directly that Russia had nothing to do in Africa, neither by state nor by private means, because Africa is an area (of interest) of the EU and France," the Russian politician added to the Italian presenter's questions about the Russian presence in Africa. 

Lavrov went on to defend Wagner's presence in Africa, claiming that the private military company (PMC) is in Libya and Mali at the invitation of the local authorities, the Tobruk House of Representatives and the transitional military government respectively. "They are present there on a commercial basis, as they are in Mali," the minister said, referring to the PMC's presence in Libya.  "And with Mali, they have a training and security services agreement," he added for Mali. 
 

Sergei Lavrov, ministro de Asuntos Exteriores de Rusia REUTERS/EVGENIA NOVOZHENINA

The Wagner group, founded by veterans of the Chechen war, made their debut on the ground during the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014. Since then, they have been a valuable resource for the Kremlin, which is believed to exercise control over the PMC through Putin's closest oligarchs. These include Yevgeny Prigozhin, a businessman subject to EU and US sanctions, who has always denied any connection with PMC Wagner. 

In this way, the Kremlin would extend its military projection power beyond its borders, covering its back by not being officially responsible for a private security company.  

Since 2016, the Wagner group has been present on the Libyan scene, and as quantified by the United Nations special mission headed by Stephanie Williams, the number of troops of private military companies, all confused, on the ground would be around 10,000 depending on the moment. According to Al-Arab, the presence of mercenaries in Libya has always been one of the obstacles to finding consensus and promoting dialogue between the two major factions dividing the country. Wagner's mercenaries are said to have strongly supported Marshal Khalifa Haftar's forces, especially during his offensive on Tripoli in 2019. They would be loyal to the Tobruk-based House of Representatives, as Minister Lavrov mentioned in his interview for Mediaset. 

Esta fotografía sin fecha distribuida por el ejército francés muestra a mercenarios rusos subiendo a un helicóptero en el norte de Malí Ejército francés vía AP

According to some media specialised in military affairs, such as Spec Ops Magazine, the Wagner Group has suffered significant military casualties in recent months in the Libyan theatre. And according to the Financial Times, the PMC has been progressively withdrawing its troops from Libya since the start of the war in Ukraine, a possible new destination for Russian mercenaries. In Libya, Moscow has also mobilised mercenaries from Syria, of whom some 5,000 are currently deployed. 

In Mali, Russia has managed to consolidate its position following the coups that put a military junta in power. With tensions rising between the military junta and European states with a military presence since the 2013 Serval operation, Russia seized the moment to present its plans for military assistance. It did so through Wagner, who would now be filling France's role, following the relocation of Operation Barkhane out of Mali. 

Since the departure of French forces from Mali, there have been a series of terrorist attacks that have left 55 people wounded, including the first casualty that Moscow has officially confirmed, allegedly a military instructor of Wagner. 

Later in April, Islamist rebels in Mali claimed to have captured a group of white military personnel, allegedly of Russian origin, who are connected to the Wagner group. 
 

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