Russia’s leader has stressed the need for a peaceful resolution of the crisis to ensure a more stable Sahel
Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with Mali’s interim leader Assimi Goita on Tuesday concerning the coup in Niger, which has sparked outside threats to restore democratic order by force.
During the phone call, Putin called for a peaceful resolution to the political crisis, both the Kremlin and Goita said in separate statements on Tuesday.
“The parties specifically focused on the current situation in the Sahara-Sahel region and emphasized, in particular, the importance of settling the situation in the Republic of Niger solely through peaceful political and diplomatic means,” the Kremlin stated.
Niger’s elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, has been held captive with his family by the new military government since he was deposed on July 26.
Leaders in neighboring former French colonies Mali and Burkina Faso have backed the coup leaders and warned against armed intervention to restore Bazoum to power.
Leaders of the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have assembled a standby military force for possible use against Niger’s new rulers, whom the bloc insists are defying diplomatic efforts to free and reinstate the ousted president.
Niger’s former colonial ruler, France, along with the US, both of which have suspended certain development aid programs to the African country, have expressed their support for ECOWAS’s actions.
