MOSCOW, Jan 4 Malian authorities' contacts with private companies providing security services «This is the sovereign right of the government,» Vsevolod Tkachenko, director of the Africa Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, said in an interview with RIA Novosti. «Contacts between the state and private contractors are the sovereign right of the Malian government,» Tkachenko said. He stressed that the Russian authorities «are not responsible for the actions of private companies «.» The Russian government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have nothing to do with private contractual issues, «Tkachenko added. 
The Foreign Ministry condemned France for criticizing the plans Mali to work with a security company from the Russian Federation Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier that accusations against Russia of sending mercenaries to Mali are groundless. According to him, Moscow has explained to its French colleagues what cooperation it has with Mali in the military sphere. In an interview with RIA Novosti, Mali Foreign Minister Abdoulay Diop also stated that the anti-Russian media campaign about the work of private security companies from the Russian Federation in Mali is aimed at disrupting cooperation between the two countries. Moscow has repeatedly denied allegations of the military presence of the Russian Federation in various African countries, in particular, the Kremlin stated that there were no representatives of the Russian armed forces on the territory of Mali. When asked whether the Mali Defense Minister raised the issue of military assistance during his visit to Russia, the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov replied that Moscow maintains contacts, including through the military, with many countries, including the states of the African continent. In addition, Moscow has repeatedly stated that the country's authorities have nothing to do with the work of private security companies.
