NIAMEY, Niger: A top US delegation visited Niger on Tuesday and met with the ruling junta, resuming contacts after the coup leaders ousted the elected president and moved closer to Russia.
State television station Tele Sahel said a US delegation, including Molly Phee, assistant secretary of state for African affairs, met with the Nigerian prime minister in Niamey.
The U.S. State Department announced earlier Tuesday that Gen. Michael Langley, commander of the U.S. Africa Command, will be part of a delegation that will visit Niger by Wednesday.
In a brief statement, the Foreign Ministry announced that its delegation would consult with the junta on “Niger’s return to a democratic path and the future of its security partnership and development.”
Movements have been restricted since the coup and Washington has cut aid to the government, but the United States continues to deploy about 1,000 troops at drone bases in the Niger desert.
Foreign Secretary Anthony Blinken made a rare visit to Niger a year ago, hoping to support President-elect Mohamed Bazoum and a strong ally in Western security efforts against the jihadists.
After only four months, the army fired Bazoom and placed him under house arrest.
The military government took a hard line against France, its former colonial power, forcing French forces to retreat for nearly a 10 years.
Niger’s military, which has worked closely with the United States, has not called for a similar withdrawal of US forces.
The junta has sought cooperation with Russia but it stopped short of the full-fledged embrace of Moscow by military-run neighbours Mali and Burkina Faso.
