Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggested on Friday that the reported halt to uranium and gold exports from Niger to France was a payback for Paris' colonial-era brutality
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th August, 2023) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggested on Friday that the reported halt to uranium and gold exports from Niger to France was a payback for Paris' colonial-era brutality.
"Obviously, this is not a first on account of France. In the past, it had carried out practices in Algeria, Rwanda and Mali, which went down in the records of the entire world. Particularly, Africans know them well. They have completely halted the shipment of gold and uranium to France. This is the response for the oppression conducted against these countries over the years," he said.
Speaking to reporters after a Friday prayer in Istanbul, the Turkish president said that his country was working to preserve good relations with African countries.
Multiple media outlets reported this week that rebel leaders in the former French colony ordered an end to commodity exports to France and also to the United States. French energy company Orano, which operates uranium mines in Niger, denied those claims on Tuesday and again on Thursday, saying its local teams were "ensuring business continuity" at Arlit and Akokan mines.
Elite presidential guard toppled the French-backed president in Niger last week, seizing control over the uranium-rich country. Niger supplies up to 17% of uranium needs in France, which relies on nuclear energy for power generation in the absence of cheap Russian fossil fuel.
