MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th July, 2023) French President Emmanuel Macron has spoken with ousted Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum, who appears to be in good health, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said.
The minister said the talks took place on Friday morning.
"He (Bazoum) can be contacted, he said that he was in good health," Colonna, who is accompanying Macron on a visit to Papua New Guinea, said.
France does not consider the coup attempt "final," Colonna added.
"If you hear me talking about a coup attempt, it's because we don't consider the situation to be final, there is still a way out if those in charge listen to the international community," the minister said.
On Thursday, Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra said his country condemned any attempt to undermine Niger's stability and called for the immediate restoration of the constitutional order in the country.
"We are in contact with our EU partners and monitor the situation closely," Hoekstra wrote on Twitter.
Spain also condemned attempts to destabilize the situation in Niger, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said.
"I called my colleague from Niger, Assoumi Massoud, to express Spain's support and solidarity with the democratically elected Government. We condemn the attempts to undermine the stability of Niger's legitimate institutions. We demand an immediate return to democratic normality," Albares wrote on Twitter.
The Austrian Foreign Ministry also condemned the situation.
"We condemn all endeavours to destabilize #Niger by overthrowing the democratically elected government!" the ministry wrote on Twitter.
Vienna called on the coup leaders to release Bazoum immediately and unconditionally.
On Wednesday, members of the Nigerien military said in a statement broadcast on national television that they had overthrown the president, closed borders and imposed a curfew in the country "until further notice." It came hours after members of the presidential guard detained the president at his residence and sealed off access to offices in the Nigerien capital of Niamey. The president's office said that Niger's army was not supporting the mutineers.
