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| Russia Sends Humanitarian Aid to Mali | Russia Sends Humanitarian Aid to Mali |
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| MOSCOW — Russia dispatched a planeload of humanitarian aid to war-stricken Mali on Friday, a day after Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov warned about the spread of terrorism in North Africa, which the Russian government has blamed on Western intervention in Libya. | |
| Mr. Lavrov met on Thursday with the United Nations special envoy for the region, Romano Prodi, to discuss the situation in Mali where Russia has supported the French-led effort to oust Islamic militants. But Russia has also blamed the West for the unrest and singled out the French in particular for arming of rebels that ousted Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi. | |
| “Particular concern was expressed about the activity of terrorist organizations in the North, a threat to regional peace and security,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement after the meeting. “The parties agreed that the uncontrolled proliferation of arms in the region in the wake of the conflict in Libya sets the stage for an escalation of tension throughout the Sahel.” The Sahel is a vast region stretching more than 3,000 miles across Africa from the Atlantic in the west to the Horn of Africa in the east. | |
| In a television interview earlier this month, Mr. Lavrov said: “France is fighting against those in Mali whom it had once armed in Libya against Qaddafi.” | In a television interview earlier this month, Mr. Lavrov said: “France is fighting against those in Mali whom it had once armed in Libya against Qaddafi.” |
| Russia’s state-controlled weapons company, Rosoboronexport, has been selling small arms to the Malian government and is considering a request to buy additional matériel, including armor and helicopters. | |
| The plane dispatched to the Malian capital, Bamako, by Russian’s Emergency Situations Ministry was carrying about 36 tons of humanitarian aid, including 45 tents, 2,000 blankets, canned food, cereals and rice. | |
| Russia voted in favor of a United Nations Security Council resolution authorizing the deployment of African troops in Mali, but Russia has also stressed that the resolution required the consent of the Malian government. | |
| French and Malian troops have repelled jihadists from major towns but the Islamist rebels are now said to be hiding in nearby villages. | French and Malian troops have repelled jihadists from major towns but the Islamist rebels are now said to be hiding in nearby villages. |
| Russian officials have pointed repeatedly to the unrest in North Africa and political turmoil in Egypt as evidence that the Western-supported Arab Spring has created a dangerous and chaotic situation and potential breeding grounds for terrorists. Russia also has used the examples of Libya and Egypt to justify its opposition to any Western effort to oust the government of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria. | Russian officials have pointed repeatedly to the unrest in North Africa and political turmoil in Egypt as evidence that the Western-supported Arab Spring has created a dangerous and chaotic situation and potential breeding grounds for terrorists. Russia also has used the examples of Libya and Egypt to justify its opposition to any Western effort to oust the government of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria. |
| Russian officials say that negotiations are needed between the Assad government and Syrian rebels to determine any transition of power in Damascus. | Russian officials say that negotiations are needed between the Assad government and Syrian rebels to determine any transition of power in Damascus. |