Malian authorities have not signed any contracts with Russian private military companies, Malian Foreign Minister, Abdoulaye Diop said on Thursday, slamming claims on the matter as a smear campaign.

“As for our cooperation with a private military company, we have already discussed this directly with our French colleagues.

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“ I confirmed that no contracts in this area were signed,’’ Diop said at a press conference following negotiations with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

“No contracts have been signed so far. Anyway, these claims fit into the general smear campaign against Mali,’’ Diop added.