The National Council for the Protection of the Fatherland (CNSP), which this month denounced the military agreements between Niger and the United States, is awaiting the timetable for the Americans’ withdrawal. A meeting took place this week between the American ambassador in Niamey and the Nigerien Minister of the Interior. At the same time, the new Nigerien authorities are continuing their rapprochement with Moscow,
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In the photo published by the National Council for the Protection of the Fatherland (CNSP), United States Ambassador Kathleen FitzGibbon stands alongside General Toumba, the Nigerien Minister of the Interior. Less than two weeks after the Niger has denounced military agreements with the Americansthe Nigerien authorities claim that the UNITED STATES will present “ shortly » a plan to disengage their soldiers present in Niger, without further details on the date.
No comment from Washington. State Department spokesperson says commenting on exchanges with Niamey would not be productive, reports Magali Lagrangefrom RFI’s Africa service.
Since the July 26 coup, Niger has been redefining its partnerships. Niamey denounced the agreements made with France and Europe, and left ECOWAS, while moving closer to Mali and Burkina Faso and, like the two other countries of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), the Russia.
At the start of the week, the CNSP also communicated around a telephone call between General Tiani and President Vladimir Putin. A sign of its importance, it was held in the presence of several Nigerien ministers, including the Prime Minister, who visited Moscow at the start of the year. Russia has already said it wants to intensify its military cooperation with Niger.