Hollande may discuss Mali in Moscow - UN envoy
MOSCOW. Feb 21 (Interfax) - The situation in Mali and whole Africa will be an item on the agenda of the Russian visit of French President Francois Hollande, UN Secretary General Envoy for the Sahel Romano Prodi told Russian Presidential Representative for Cooperation with Africa Mikhail Margelov.
Mali and the entire regional situation will be an important subject of Russian-French negotiations scheduled for late February when French President Francois Hollande visits Russia, Prodi said.
He stressed that the African continent must not transform into a battlefield and it was necessary to pool efforts for solving African problems.
Margelov said there would be a conference of African leaders on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in South Africa in March to discuss cooperation and settlement matters "on the top level and in the broadest format."
The Kremlin said on Thursday that Hollande would make a working visit to Russia on February 27-28 at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin.