Reporting by Western media outlets on the actions of Russian private military companies (PMCs) in Africa won’t damage Russia’s image since Moscow has nothing to do with the services they provide, Lavrov said at a press conference on Thursday.
"If somebody thinks that putting a spin on this contrived topic damages the image of the Russian Federation, I don’t think so. <...> As for the phenomenon of private military companies in general, we have nothing to do with the activity of any such structures that were created by Russian citizens," he said.
Speaking of Western countries’ concerns over the plans of Mali’s government to use the services of a Russian PMC, the Russian top diplomat stressed that this issue is the exclusive purview of the republic’s government. "As for the reports of the Malian government’s plans to use the services of a private military company from the Russian Federation that Mali’s prime minister openly mentioned during a session of the UN General Assembly, this issue is the exclusive purview of Mali’s legitimate government," the foreign minister said.
As Lavrov reported earlier, Mali’s government turned to a Russian private military company for help in fighting terrorism. Against this background, a number of Western countries, above all, France, began to accuse Russia of establishing its influence in West Africa with the help of "mercenaries" allegedly connected with the state.
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