Mali expels Swedish ambassador amid strained relations with the West

"Mali has ordered Sweden's ambassador to leave the country within 72 hours because of what it called a “hostile” statement by a Swedish minister, the government said on Friday.

Ambassador Kristina Kuhnel’s expulsion comes after Mali on Monday announced it was severing diplomatic ties with Ukraine. Bamako’s decision to cut ties with Kyiv prompted Sweden's minister for international development cooperation and trade, Johan Forssell, to say on Wednesday that the government had decided to phase out bilateral aid to Mali due to its ties to Moscow.
"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," Forssell said on social media platform X. Mali and its neighbours, Niger and Burkina Faso, also led by juntas, have pivoted away from their traditional Western allies to form closer ties with Russia." AfricaNews