State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller on Tuesday declined to disclose what contingency plans the United States has should Niger President Mohamed Bazoum not return to power, but underscored that the future of US assistance to the country is at stake amid the ongoing coup
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st August, 2023) State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller on Tuesday declined to disclose what contingency plans the United States has should Niger President Mohamed Bazoum not return to power, but underscored that the future of US assistance to the country is at stake amid the ongoing coup.
"I don't want to talk about what specifically we might do if President Bazoum not restored to authority but certainly our aid or assistance is at stake, but again, I think it's premature to speculate what that might look like at this point," Miller said during a press briefing.
Miller also echoed that the United States sees no evidence indicating that Russia is behind the coup in Niger, which White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby also affirmed earlier in the day.
Kirby added that the Biden administration believes there is still a window for diplomacy in Niger.
Last Wednesday, Niger's presidential guard detained Bazoum. The guard's commander, Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, proclaimed himself the country's new leader. France's foreign ministry said that President Emmanuel Macron had spoken to Bazoum on Friday and that Paris continued to recognize him as the only legitimate leader of the African country.
On Saturday, France suspended all financial aid to Niger until constitutional order is restored. On the next day, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) gave Niger's coup leaders one week to reinstate the detained president to power saying that it could use "all measures," including military, to restore order in the country.
