RUSSIAN Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited Mali on Tuesday for talks with its junta leaders who seek Moscow’s help in battling an Islamist insurgency.

The visit was Mr Lavrov’s third trip to Africa since July, part of a bid to expand Russia’s influence on the continent.

Since taking control of Mali in two coups since August 2020, the junta led by Colonel Assimi Goita has embraced Russian support to aid its anti-jihadist fight after evicting the forces of former colonial ruler France.

Several Malian officials have travelled to Moscow, but the visit by Mr Lavrov is “the first of its kind” aimed at cementing “a new dynamic” for security and economic co-operation between the two countries, according to Mali’s foreign ministry.

Mr Lavrov held talks with Colonel Goita and other ministers. 

Mali has already received planes and attack helicopters from Moscow as well as several hundred Russian soldiers described by Mali’s leaders as instructors who are helping to reinforce its defence and sovereignty.

In January, Mr Lavrov accused the US and its allies of “colonial methods” as he visited Angola, South Africa and Eswatini [Swaziland], insisting that Moscow sought relations on the continent built on “solidarity and support.”