Mali has ordered Sweden’s ambassador, Kristina Kuhnel, to leave the country within 72 hours, citing a “hostile” statement made by a Swedish minister, the government announced on Friday.
The expulsion of Ambassador Kuhnel follows Mali’s decision earlier in the week to sever diplomatic ties with Ukraine. Mali accused a senior Ukrainian official of implying that Kyiv had assisted Tuareg rebels who claimed responsibility for the deaths of dozens of Russian Wagner group mercenaries and Malian soldiers in July.
Ukraine has firmly denied any involvement in the conflict in northern Mali.
The Malian government’s decision to cut ties with Ukraine prompted a response from Sweden. On Wednesday, Sweden’s Minister for International Development Cooperation and Trade, Johan Forssell, announced that his government would phase out bilateral aid to Mali due to its growing relationship with Moscow. Forssell stated on social media platform X, “You cannot support Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine and at the same time receive several hundred million kronor each year in development aid.”
Over the past decade, Sweden has provided more than $330 million in assistance to Mali.
Relations between Mali and Western nations have deteriorated since a military junta took power in 2020 and conducted another coup in the following year. Mali, along with neighboring countries Niger and Burkina Faso, also led by military juntas, has shifted away from traditional Western allies in favor of closer ties with Russia.
