"We are in contact with our Dutch colleagues on the issue of our participation in the UN mission in the north of Mali, to support the peace process. The decision is still pending in Germany. However, the Foreign Ministry and the Defense Ministry are working together on this issue, on how the Germans can contribute to this part," Steinmeier said at a news briefing.
Earlier in the day, the German Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper reported that from the beginning of 2016 German soldiers could strengthen the UN mission in northern Mali to assist some 600 Dutch troops already deployed in the country. To date, Germany is engaged in an EU training mission in the south of Mali with around 200 troops.
In the larger UN MINUSMA mission, present in Mali since 2013, Germany has only seven officers and two junior officers.
Mali has experienced consistent violent instability following a 2012 military coup, after which separatist tribes seized control over large areas in the northern part of the country. Recently Islamist groups have emerged in the country.
