EU's top diplomat says Russian influence causing dilemma in Sahel


FILE PHOTO: European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell speaks during a joint news conference with Lebanon's caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib in Beirut, Lebanon January 6, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union is facing a dilemma over its remaining presence in Mali and the wider West African Sahel region, since it does not want to cooperate with Russia's expanding military forces, its top diplomat said on Wednesday.

The decision by junta-led Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger to withdraw from West African bloc ECOWAS has further complicated EU presence in the region, the bloc's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said ahead of a defence ministers meeting in Brussels.

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