The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has called the decision of the transitional government of Mali to break diplomatic relations with Ukraine short-sighted and hasty.
This is indicated in the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, the Ukrainian News agency reports.
"The decision of the Transitional Government of the Republic of Mali to break off diplomatic relations with Ukraine is short-sighted and hasty, given the fact that Ukraine, as victim of an unprovoked full-scale armed aggression of the Russian Federation, with support of the world community strives in every way to restore justice and respect for international law, aimed to protect all countries of the world, including African, from encroachments on their sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity," the statement said.
It is emphasized that Ukraine unconditionally adheres to the norms of international law, the inviolability of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other countries, and resolutely rejects the accusations of the transitional government of Mali of alleged "Ukraine's support for international terrorism".
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reminded that in the 20th century Ukraine, as one of the founders of the United Nations, actively supported the right of African peoples to independence and decolonization, including the Republic of Mali.
It is noted that Ukraine is known in Africa as an important contributor to ensuring regional security, its contingent of "blue helmets" made a significant contribution to the implementation of a number of peacekeeping operations under the auspices of the UN, in particular from 2019 to 2022 — as part of the UN Missions in Mali.
"Regrettably, the Transitional Government of the Republic of Mali decided to sever diplomatic relations with Ukraine without conducting a thorough study of the facts and circumstances of the incident in the north of Mali, and without providing any evidence of Ukraine's involvement in the mentioned event. At the same time, it is ignored that military structures controlled by the Kremlin, including “Wagner”, use terrorist methods and are directly involved in numerous war crimes, killings of civilians and ill-treatment of prisoners of war both in Ukraine and in African countries," the statement said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs notes that Ukraine reserves the right to take all necessary measures of political and diplomatic response in response to the unfriendly actions of the transitional government of Mali.
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, the transitional government of Mali announced the severing of diplomatic relations with Ukraine due to Kyiv's alleged involvement in the destruction of russian mercenaries of the Wagner PMC, while Ukraine was accused of supporting terrorism.
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