French parliament asks EU to list Wagner as 'terrorist group'

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The European Union should no longer classify Russian mercenary unit Wagner as a "terrorist group," a resolution adopted by the French parliament on Tuesday said.

The non-binding and symbolic resolution passed with unanimous support across the political spectrum.

Its author, Benjamin Haddad of the ruling party, expressed the hope that it would persuade the 27 EU nations to add Wagner to their official list of terrorist organizations.

"Wherever they work, Wagner members spread instability and violence," he told parliament.

Moreover, he underlined that they were not "simple mercenaries" driven by an "appetite for money" but they "follow a broad strategy, from Mali to Ukraine, of supporting the aggressive policies of President (Vladimir) Putin's regime towards our democracies."

The EU member states listing an organization as a terrorist group means EU members could freeze its assets and those of its members. Meanwhile, European companies and citizens are forbidden from dealing with the group.

Wagner and its commander, Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin are already under numerous sanctions imposed by the European Union for alleged human rights abuses in Africa and participation in the Ukraine war effort.

Prigozhin had his assets in the European Union frozen in 2020 and was placed on a visa blacklist over the alleged deployment of Wagner fighters to Libya, which was brought to collapse by the United States and its NATO allies.

French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna acknowledged before lawmakers on Tuesday that legally, the EU terrorist label would not have any "direct supplemental effect" on the group. 

However, she underlined, "We should not underestimate the symbolic importance of such a designation, nor the dissuasive effect that it could have on states tempted to turn" to Wagner.

France particularly has a bone to pick with Wagner, as Paris has been accusing the group of spreading anti-French propaganda in West Africa, especially Mali.

Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop told Al Mayadeen during an exclusive interview in March that NATO's intervention in Libya and the support of some terrorist groups contributed to the bolstering and proliferation of terrorism in Mali and the entire African Sahel region.

Groups from the Malian community in Libya benefited from NATO's intervention in the North African state in order to obtain support and assistance, Diop told Al Mayadeen, noting that the groups in question went to northern Mali, and they were joined by terrorist organizations, who went on to occupy a third of Mali's territory.

Diop commented on France's withdrawal from his country, saying Paris decided to leave Mali and was not expelled. "One can return to the official statements of the French government, in which it was announced that the military operations with the Malian army would stop and that the Barkhane operation would end.

He saw that France's decision was taken to "punish the Malian authorities that decided to change their military strategy and replace their strategic partner."

It is noteworthy that in mid-October, during a speech delivered at a United Nations Security Council briefing on Mali in New York, Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop accused France of violating Malian airspace and delivering weapons to militants that have been crippling the country for the past decade, which France denied.

Furthermore, the Malian government declared on March 1 in a letter to Pedro Comissario Alfonso, president of the Security Council and Ambassador of Mozambique to the UN that France no longer has the power to draft resolutions and declarations regarding the Republic of Mali within the UNSC (UNSC).

Since December 2012, France has been responsible for producing all the drafts in the UN Security Council concerning Mali. However, Mali complained to the Security Council in August 2022 about acts of aggression, subversion, destabilization, and violation of Malian airspace by aircraft of the French armed forces. 

The presence of French troops in Mali was established in 2013 under the pretext of countering terrorist activities in the Sahel region, after the 2011 intervention in Libya by NATO forces. The country achieved full independence after French troops withdrew from its country on August 15, 2022, following pressure from the Malian government.

The EU's terrorist list, which is approved by leaders of the bloc's member states at their regular meetings, currently includes 13 people and 21 groups or entities including Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.

Lithuania and Estonia, both EU members, have Wagner labeled as a "terrorist organization".

Wagner has been helping the Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine as a paramilitary group.

Prigozhin announced on Thursday that his forces will be withdrawing from Bakhmut city in Donbass on May 10 and that they will be handing their positions over to the Russian Army.

The group operates as an auxiliary force that helps the Russian army get into a region or city before handing it full control of it.

Bakhmut, which is situated north of Donetsk, holds strategic significance for the course of the war. The city has long been the transportation route of food and supplies for the Ukrainian troops stationed in Donbas. 

The French bid to label Wagner as a terrorist comes months after the US Treasury announced that the US has designated Wagner Group as a transnational criminal organization. 

The statement also announced the introduction of sanctions on six individuals and 12 entities in connection with Russia's military operation in Ukraine.

The list includes Russian cargo airline Aviacon Zitotrans, UAV developer Ural Civil Aviation Factory, Joint Stock Company National Aviation Service Company, LLC Research & Production Enterprise Prima, Federal State Unitary Enterprise Scientific and Production Enterprise Gamma, as well as state-owned enterprise Almaz-Antey and its CEO Yan Novikov, among others.