Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov hosted the defence ministers of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger in Moscow for what he described as the first consultations between the Russian defence ministry and the confederation's member states. A memorandum of understanding on defence cooperation was signed. Its text is not public; Belousov spoke of "comprehensive assistance" for the three states' stability and sovereignty.
Why it mattersThe first instrument that names the Russian Ministry of Defence as the counterparty of all three governments at once — two months after Wagner's departure from Mali moved the deployment itself under the same ministry. It is recorded as a signed memorandum whose obligations are unknown, not as a treaty, and the Analytical Note on the Wagner–Africa Corps transition treats it as one of three layers of state-to-state paper that replaced a company's contract.
Confidence: HighSources: Established international media reporting · Official government statementsMethodologyCorrections
See this event in the timeline Interactive: select this record and follow what connects to it.