The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, opted this Tuesday to maintain the diplomatic channel to try to solve the crisis generated by the military coup in Niger and stressed Washington's support for efforts at the regional level.
"We support the efforts of ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) to restore constitutional order in Niger. We work diplomatically to support their work," Blinken said in an interview with Radio France International (RFI).
ECOWAS has warned of the possibility of a military intervention in Niger, but the head of US diplomacy assures that "diplomacy is the preferable means to resolve this situation. It is ECOWAS' approach."
"What we see in Niger is devastating and does not offer anything to the country or the people," said Blinken, who pointed out that the United States and other countries "put us in the position" of having to stop our aid to Niger, which will not benefit nothing to town
Blinken evaded commenting on the future presence of the thousand US soldiers stationed in Niger in support of the fight against jihadism in the Sahel region. "The essential thing is the return to the constitutional order, which is what we are working on. Later we will see", he limited himself to saying.
The interview comes shortly after the State Department reported that its "number two," Victoria Nuland, met with several Nigerien coup leaders on Monday, though she made no significant progress toward restoring constitutional order.
During those talks, Nuland put on the table various formulas to restore democratic order in Niger through a "negotiated solution," but the coup leaders showed little interest, he explained in a telephone statement to a group of journalists in Washington. The US emissary assured that the talks in Niamey had been "extremely frank and sometimes quite difficult".
Nuland said he met with Brigadier General Moussa Salaou Barmou, the new army chief, and other officials, but was unable to meet either the ruling armed forces chief, General Abdourahamane Tiani, or the ousted president. Mohamed Bazoum.
The US diplomat said she offered "many options" to end the coup, as well as US "good offices" "if there was a desire on the part of officials to return to constitutional order," adding: "I I wouldn't say this offer was considered in any way."
Nuland also specified that General Barmou was well aware of the existing cooperation between Niger and the United States, due to his previous involvement in the special forces.
The perpetrators of the coup "understand very well the risks that an invitation from Wagner represents for their sovereignty," Nulan said, referring to the Russian paramilitary group present in neighboring Mali.
The leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) will meet again this Thursday in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, to discuss the situation in Niger, two weeks after the coup.
At an earlier summit in Abuja on July 30, West African leaders gave Niger's military a week to restore President-elect Mohamed Bazoum, who is currently jailed. The region's chiefs of staff had even outlined the "outlines" of a possible armed intervention, but it was not triggered when the ultimatum expired last Sunday.
According to a source close to Cedeao, no intervention is foreseen at this stage, so the path of dialogue seems to still be on the table. For its part, "the junta has asked the ECOWAS delegation to return" to Niger on Tuesday, the ousted Nigerien prime minister, Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou, told TV5 Monde on Monday. This delegation, which arrived in Niamey last Thursday, left a few hours later without having been able to meet either General Tiani or Mr. Bazoum.
Several African voices have rejected the military option in recent days. A military intervention could be "a disaster," warned the head of Malian diplomacy Abdoulaye Diop on Monday in Bamako.
Algeria, another neighbor of Niger and a main actor in the Sahel, has also declared itself against an intervention. Some Western countries, such as Germany and Italy, have also advocated a diplomatic solution.
A joint Mali-Burkina Faso delegation was sent to Niamey in support of the Nigerien army. "We reiterate the decision of (Malian) presidents Assimi) Goïta and (Burkinabe Ibrahim) Traoré to fully participate in the self-defense operations together with the Niger Defense and Security Forces," said Malian government spokesman Abdoulaye Maiga.
Burkina Faso and Mali, neighbors of Niger, also governed by the military and facing violence from jihadist groups, have stressed in recent days that an armed intervention would be "a declaration of war" on their two countries.
Shortly before the end of the ultimatum imposed by ECOWAS, they announced that they were closing Niger's airspace "until further notice." "Any state involved will be considered co-belligerent," they added.
The military announced Monday night the appointment of a prime minister, Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, former finance minister to President Mamadou Tandja, and Habibou Assoumane, the new commander of the presidential guard.
