MaliMOSCOW, Jan 18Mali has asked France to revise bilateral defense agreements, Agence France-Presse reports citing a French diplomatic source. «Mali has asked France to revise bilateral defense agreements amid rising tensions,» the agency said. and is considering it. In 2014, France launched the Barkhan anti-terrorist operation in the region. This mission is supported by the G5 regional structure, created in the same year. The goal of the operation in the Sahara-Sahel region (Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Chad) is to fight terrorism and stabilize the situation to a level where local authorities can provide security themselves. In the summer of 2021, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that Paris would change the model of its military presence in the Sahel: the operation «Dune» in its current form would be completed, it would be replaced by an international alliance that would include the countries of the region and other partners. Countries of the Economic Community of West African States ( ECOWAS) imposed tough sanctions on Mali after Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop said that it would be impossible to complete the transition period with elections in February 2022 due to the security situation. The association decided to freeze Mali's assets in the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), close the borders and suspend commercial transactions with the country — with the exception of the sale of medical and essential goods. ECOWAS also decided to recall ambassadors to Mali and impose sanctions on financial assistance. The United States and France supported the imposition of sanctions. The authorities of Mali, in response to the imposition of ECOWAS sanctions, closed the borders with the countries of association, with the exception of Guinea. ECOWAS includes Benin, Burkina Faso, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Côte d'Ivoire, Cape Verde, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.
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