The government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has expanded ties to officials of the African nation of Mali who were recently sanctioned by the US Treasury over what was described as malicious activities by the Russian mercenary group Wagner in the West African country.

The growing ties between Turkey and Mali’s military rulers have been cultivated in recent years through military aid, training, commerce and investment schemes, all of which are part of the Erdogan’s Islamist government’s campaign to curb Western influence in Africa, an objective also pursued aggressively by Russia and China.

Col. Sadio Camara, Mali’s minister of defense and one of three sanctioned officials, has forged close ties with Turkish government officials and procured military hardware from the NATO member state.

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Camara and his team were hosted in Turkey in April of last year on a special invitation extended by his counterpart, then-defense minister Hulusi Akar, who now heads the parliamentary Defense Committee. During the meeting they discussed expanding military and defense cooperation between Turkey and Mali’s military government.

Continue here: Nordic Monitor