"Abdoulaye Diop, the foreign minister of Mali, hosted a senior US official on Monday to chart a "new course" in relations between the United States and the junta-led nation. Nick Checker, who heads the US State Department's Bureau of African Affairs, reaffirmed Washington's respect for Mali's sovereignty. Ahead of Checker's visit, the bureau posted on X that the United States also looked forward to "consulting with other governments in the region, including Burkina Faso and Niger, on shared security and economic interests.""
"From 2020 through 2023, the elected civilian presidents of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger were overthrown in a series of coups, prompting the Biden administration to restrict US military cooperation. In October, Massad Boulos, the senior adviser for Arab and African affairs under the current US president, Donald Trump, told Le Monde newspaper that democracy is "appreciated," but it is no longer a criterion for ties."
""Unfortunately, it is not democracy or human rights that matter to Donald Trump's administration," he told DW. Bazoum, he said, "has been detained in the presidential palace for more than 900 days." 'Past policy missteps' "It is clear that the Americans are not concerned about democracy in the Sahel right now," Ulf Laessing, the director of the Sahel program for the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, which is affiliated with Germany's ruling Christian Democrats. "They have adopted a pragmatic stance.""
Abdoulaye Diop hosted Nick Checker to chart a new course in relations between Mali and the United States, with Washington reaffirming respect for Mali's sovereignty. The US signaled intent to consult regional governments including Burkina Faso and Niger on shared security and economic interests. Coups from 2020 through 2023 toppled elected presidents in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, prompting prior US restrictions on military cooperation. A senior US adviser recently stated that democracy is no longer a criterion for ties. Critics point to detained deposed leader Mohamed Bazoum and warn that human rights and democracy are being deprioritized as Russia expands influence in the Sahel.
Read at www.dw.com
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