The Soviet Union recognised the independence of Mali on 7 July 1960, and diplomatic relations between the two states were established on 14 October 1960.[1] Following the collapse of the Mali Federation, and due to French support for Senegal, Modibo Keïta, the first President of Mali, sought closer ties with the Soviet Union.[2] In 1961 the two countries signed trade and cultural pacts,[3] and the Soviet Union granted Mali loans and other aid,[2] which included the acquisition of two Ilyushin Il-18passenger aircraft for Air Mali.[4][5] Under the cultural agreement Russia sent circus performers, sports coaches and a soccer team to Mali.[6]
When Keïta was overthrown by Moussa Traoré by a coup d'état in 1968, Traoré improved relations with France and other Western countries, but Mali remained dependent on the Soviet Union for the arming and training of its military. Approximately 50 Soviet military advisors provided armour, artillery and parachute training to Mali's military, and trained all of Mali's pilots.[7] The Soviets also improved the Malian Air Force base in Mopti, and occasionally used Malian airfields to stage supply flights for groups it supported in Angola.[7]
In 2005 Anatoly Safonov, the Special Presidential Representative for International Cooperation in the Fight Against Terrorism and Cross-Border Organized Crime, met from January 25, 2005 through January 28, 2005 in Bamako with his Mali counterpart.[14]
In November 2022, Russia was committed to send shipments worth around $100 million to Mali, including 60,000 tonnes of petroleum products, 30,000 tonnes of fertiliser and 25,000 tonnes of wheat, according to Minister of Economy and Finance Alousséni Sanou.[15] In February 2023, Russia's foreign minister Sergey Lavrov met Malian military junta leaders to ensure his country's support to Mali against the Islamist insurgency in the Sahel.[16]
^ abBingen, R. James; Robinson, David; Staatz, John M. (2000). "From Military Dictatorship to Democracy". Democracy and development in Mali. Clark, Andrew F. MSU Press. pp. 255–256. ISBN0-87013-560-0. Retrieved 2009-07-17.
^"Reds Aid Mali". Associated Press in Eugene Register Guard. February 18, 1962. Retrieved 2009-07-17. Under a cultural agreement with Mali, Russia« ill send circus performers, sports coaches and a football team to the former French African colony ...
^"On Russian-Malian Inter-MFA Consultations". Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Archived from the original on 2011-09-27. Retrieved 2009-07-17. Russian-Malian political consultations took place in Bamako on April 30 - May 1, conducted by Alexander Makarenko, Director of the Africa Department of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and N. L. Traore, Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Mali.
^"Russian-Mali Consultations on the Combating of International Terrorism". Embassy of Russia in Ghana. Archived from the original on 2011-10-06. Retrieved 2009-07-17. His meetings with the President of the Republic of Mali and senior officials from security structures and the Foreign Ministry have shown that the two sides have common approaches to the problems in counteraction against international terrorism in all its manifestations. The Mali highly assessed the Russian Federation's contribution to intensifying the antiterrorist struggle, and its activity as the Chairman of the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee.
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