Bundeswehr to stay in Mali while Russian mercenaries remain: German Minister

German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht has rejected a Bundeswehr withdrawal from the crisis-torn West African state of Mali because of the Russian mercenary company Wagner operating there.

"We will not back down, we will not make it that easy for the Russians," the Social Democrat politician told Sunday's edition of the newspaper Die Welt in an interview seen by dpa in advance.

"Moscow will not succeed in getting the West to retreat quasi automatically everywhere Russia does not want to see us by sending mercenaries," Lambrecht said, while also making demands of the Malian government.

Mali's military-dominated interim government had recently admitted the presence of Russian trainers in the country and stressed that they had been given the same mandate as the EU training mission EUTM.

Germany, France, Britain and other countries had accused the Malian interim government of bringing mercenaries from the Russian company Wagner into the country, which it has so far denied.

The European Union accuses Wagner of fomenting violence and intimidating civilians and imposed sanctions on the organization on December 13, 2021.

"If you want the Bundeswehr in the country, then you also have to make sure that the conditions are right," Lambrecht said, addressing the Malian government.

The soldiers must be able to move around unhindered and be protected in the best possible way. This also includes protection by drones, she said.

"I will make it very clear to the Malian government that it also cannot be that elections are suspended for five years or that it cooperates with mercenaries who are guilty of serious human rights violations," the minister said.

Lambrecht had already said in the Bundestag in mid-January that she demanded a return to democracy from the military junta in Mali. The West African country must call new elections quickly and not in five years, she said.

Mali, with a population of around 20 million, has experienced three military coups since 2012 and is considered politically extremely unstable.

Since the last coup in May, the country has been led by a military transitional government.

The interim government recently said it would not hold new elections for another four years, instead of next month as originally planned.

For years, Islamist terrorist groups have been causing trouble in the crisis state.

The former colonial power France is active in the region with thousands of military personnel in the fight against terrorism.

The German armed forces are deployed in Mali with some 1,350 soldiers as part of the EUTM and the UN peacekeeping mission MINUSMA.