Mali Receives Russian Helicopters, Planes

BAMAKO (Sputnik) - Mali received several military planes and helicopters from Russia during an official ceremony on Tuesday, a Sputnik correspondent reported.

Mali received L-39 and Su-25 fighter jets as well as Mi-24P and Mi-8 attack helicopters and CASA C-295 tactical transport aircraft. The ceremony, presided over by Malian interim President Assimi Goita, was held at the presidential hall of the international airport in the country's capital city of Bamako.

"I must say that today's ceremony is historic in nature, in quality, and in the components of what you are handing me, of which we are displaying only part, and the rest, of course, is involved in the operations at the time of this ceremony... Many thanks to the interim president, Colonel Assimi Goita, and the mutually beneficial partnership with the Russian Federation," Malian Defense Minister Sadio Camara said during his speech at the ceremony.

The two nations have renewed military and defense industry cooperation in recent years after it shrank significantly following the fall of the Soviet Union.