(Bloomberg) -- Mali’s ruling junta gave the Swedish ambassador 72 hours to leave the country citing a “hostile statement” by its government.
Sweden, one of the major contributors of development aid to the West African nation, on Wednesday reiterated an earlier decision to phase out the funding by the end of this year.
“You can’t support Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine and at the same time receive several hundred of millions each year in development aid,” Minister for International Development Cooperation Johan Forssell said in a post on social media platform X. Sweden’s Foreign Minister Tobias Billström in a statement on Friday called Mali’s decision to expel the ambassador “remarkable”.
In June, Sweden said it would close its embassies in Mali and neighboring Burkina Faso in 2024.
Mali has strengthened its relationship with Moscow and shunned ties with traditional partners such as the US and France since a military takeover in 2020. Mercenaries from the Kremlin-linked Wagner Group deployed to the nation in late 2021.
Mali last week broke diplomatic ties with Ukraine following reports that it had assisted Malian rebels that killed scores of Wagner fighters and government troops in clashes in July.
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