The head of EU foreign policy stated that the EU Foreign Minister agreed on Monday (November 15) to impose more sanctions on the gloomy Russian mercenary organization Wagner because of its involvement in a series of hot issues.
Western countries believe that private military equipment closely related to the Kremlin is related to conflicts in Ukraine, Africa and the Middle East.
Joseph Borrell said after a meeting in Brussels: “In order to take restrictive measures against this group, people agreed to move forward.”
He said that the sanctions proposal will now be drafted by EU experts and will be discussed further when the foreign ministers meet again in December.
France, a member of the European Union, has been taking the lead in taking action against Wagner.
According to reports, Paris strongly opposes the agreement reached between the organization and the Malian military government to send 1,000 contractors to this jihadist country.
As early as last year, the European Union blacklisted Wagner’s so-called financier Yevgeny Prigozhin, who was a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin for the reason The organization is involved in Libyan affairs.
The Kremlin denied any connection with the mercenary company.
In addition to targeting Wagner, France also pushed EU counterparts to continue sanctions against Mali’s military leadership after the coup.
Borrell said the foreign minister agreed to establish a legal framework that would allow Brussels to target those who hinder the transition to civil rule.
The move came after the West African regional organization ECOWAS this month attacked individual members of the military government that has ruled Mali since the seizure of power in August 2020.
