THE KREMLIN, MOSCOW. Presentation ceremony of foreign ambassadors’ letters of credentials. Ambassador of the Republic of Mali Brehima Coulibaly presents his letter of credentials to the President of Russia. CC BY 4.0

Mali, New Theatre Of Russian-French Rivalry, Akhbar al-Aan TV, 23 Sep 2021

By Olivier Guitta

Russia has made a clear choice to expand its influence in Africa. In the past three years, it has yielded extraordinary results, moving into about twenty African countries. Logically it has ruffled some feathers and especially French ones. Indeed, Russia has increased its influence in ex-French colonies, setting up a proxy war with France that has been escalating by the day. The latest theatre of that war is Mali, the crucial and troubled country in the Sahel.

In ea...