Putin Surprises Military Junta In Mali

<h4>Putin Surprises Military Junta In Mali<&sol;h4>&NewLine;<p><strong><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;openlife&period;ng&sol;">OpenLife Nigeria<&sol;a><&sol;strong> reports that Mali&&num;8217&semi;s junta leader&comma; Colonel Assimi Goita&comma; who received a draft of a new constitution in October as a key part of the military&&num;8217&semi;s bid to retain power in the crisis-hit country in 2024&comma; is set to receive supports from Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin&comma; president of Russia&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;According to information&comma; the Mali’s military government has been strengthening its relationship with Russia as anti-French sentiments peak in Bamako&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;According to Aljazeera &comma; Mali expects Russia to send shipments of fuel&comma; fertiliser and food worth around &dollar;100 million to Mali in the coming weeks&comma; the West African country’s economy minister&comma; Alousseini Sanou&comma; says&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Meanwhile&comma; on the military government’s bid to return the country to democracy&comma; the text of the &&num;8220&semi;preliminary draft constitution&&num;8221&semi; has not been made public and arrived two months after it was originally due&comma; but the commission chair set up to write it said the deadline had been extended&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Fousseyni Samake warned Goita&comma; &&num;8220&semi;Any constitution will be subject to challenges&comma; criticism&comma; and controversy&comma;&&num;8221&semi; the so-called transitional presidency said in a statement&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Malian authorities&comma; dominated by the military which seized power in August 2020&comma; cite the drafting of a new fundamental law as one of the reforms needed for the &&num;8220&semi;refoundation&&num;8221&semi; of the state&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;They announced the commission in June after extending military rule until 2024&comma; and have said the constitution will be put to a referendum in March 2023&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;&&num;8220&semi;The submission of the draft of the new Constitution is only one step in the process&comma; as soon only the sovereign people will be called to a referendum to decide on the document&period; Adopting the new Constitution is the legal founding act of Malikura &lpar;term etymologically taken to mean a new Mali to the satisfaction of the masses&comma; ed&period;&rpar; that the people will have sovereignly taken&period;&&num;8221&semi; Assimi Goita&comma; head of Mali&&num;8217&semi;s ruling junta said Tuesday&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;The military has pledged under pressure to hold elections in February 2024 and to hand over power in March of the same year&period; In return&comma; the regime secured an end to the sanctions imposed by the <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;google&period;com&sol;">Economic Community of West African States &lpar;Ecowas&rpar;<&sol;a>&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;