Russia vetoes UN resolution on Mali sanctions

News Snapshot:

Russia on Wednesday vetoed an attempt to keep inside military-run Mali a team of UN experts who had charged that foreign forces -- a veiled reference to Moscow-linked Wagner mercenaries -- were involved in widespread abuses. Thirteen of the UN Security Council's 15 members backed a proposal that would have extended by one year targeted sanctions in Mali, which expire this week, and kept the experts in place. But Russia exercised its veto power to block the proposal led by Mali's former colonial power France and the United Arab Emirates. China abstained. Russia's ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, noted that the sanctions...