The Wagner Group, a Russian private military company, is present in Mali and Libya “on a commercial basis,” according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

In an interview with Italy’s Mediaset, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reiterated Moscow’s official position that Wagner “has nothing to do with the Russian state.”

He said that Moscow “explained this to our French colleagues when they became nervous because Wagner had agreed with the government of Mali to provide security services.”

“My esteemed colleague Jean-Yves Le Drian as well as (EU foreign policy chief) Josep Borrell back in September 2021 told me directly that Russia has nothing to do in Africa either through state channels or through private military companies because Africa is a zone (of interests) of the EU and France,” Lavrov said in the interview published on Sunday.

“We also explained the situation that has developed in Libya, where this private military company was invited by the authorities in the city of Tobruk, where the Libyan parliament is located,” he added.

“They are there on a commercial basis, as well as in Mali.”

Reputed to be close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Wagner Group and its mercenaries are suspected of abuses in Mali, Libya and Syria.

Mali’s military-dominated government says the Russians in the country are military instructors.

According to a European official, up to 20,000 mercenaries from the Wagner Group, as well as from Syria and Libya, are fighting with Moscow’s forces in Ukraine.