Mali ‘not at war’ with UN, to overcome difficulties

Mali's foreign minister has said his country was "not at war" with the United Nations as relations with Bamako's military junta have plummeted in recent weeks.

Mali's Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop's comments came after a meeting with the UN under secretary general for peace operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix, who was visiting the Malian capital to discuss a one-year extension of MINUSMA operations, recently approved by the Security Council.

"Mali is not at war with the United Nations, contrary to what others have tried to say. Even in a family there are difficulties, there are problems, but you overcome them," Diop said.

The spokesperson for the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali, MINUSMA, Olivier Salgado, has been expelled for publishing what the authorities deemed "unacceptable" information on Twitter following the arrest of 49 Ivorian soldiers in Bamako earlier this month.

Ivory Coast says its troops were providing routine back-up to the MINUSMA operation's Ivorian contingent, but Mali described them as "mercenaries".

READ MORE: Mali to suspend UN peacekeeping mission rotations

Suspending MINUSMA rotations

Talks with Mali's Diop "went well" said Jean-Pierre Lacroix and that the United Nations was seeking to review the way it supports the country, rocked by a bloody militant insurgency since 2012.

The Malian authorities have also announced the suspension of all MINUSMA rotations, saying a meeting between both parties must take place to facilitate their coordination and regulation.

"Rotations are like the blood circulatory system, we must resume them urgently," said Lacroix.

MINUSMA has more than 12,000 troops in Mali.

READ MORE: UN peacekeeper killed after convoy attacked in northern Mali