African countries' leaders should decide for themselves whether they want to continue working with the Russian Wagner mercenary group, Russia's foreign ministry has said.

Fighters from the group have played an increasingly central role in fighting militants in Mali and the Central African Republic (CAR).

But a short-lived mutiny in Russia by Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin on Saturday has led to a fallout with Kremlin and thrown the group's operations in Africa in doubt.

In a statement on Wednesday, Russia's foreign ministry said the issue of Wagner's presence in Africa is up to African countries.

'Security instructors'

The governments of Mali and CAR are yet to comment on the developments.

On Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov assured that Wagner members would stay in the countries as they "are working there as instructors."

He added that the rebellion by Prigozhin would not change anything in Russia's ties with its allies.

In their rebellion over the weekend Wagner fighters sought the dismissal of top military leaders, before making a deal with the Kremlin that saw Prigozhin leave for Belarus.