Washington wants to maintain margin of maneuver in Niger

The United States strongly criticized the ousting of President Mohamed Bazoum in Niger without explicitly labeling it as a "coup," thereby maintaining a limited response to the situation.

While France was among the first countries to suspend direct aid and evacuate its citizens and other European nationals, the United States has not yet decided to suspend aid or evacuate its citizens.

The United States believes that there is a "window" for diplomacy and restoring President Bazoum to power, and has praised the firm message sent by West African countries to the coup leaders.

On Tuesday, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby stated, "We have no indications of direct threats to US citizens or our facilities" in Niger.

He added, "Therefore, we have not changed our position regarding our presence in Niger at the moment," and they have not decided to suspend US assistance.

Kirby further said, "If we need to make adjustments, we will do so," emphasizing that the United States is "monitoring the situation around the clock."

On Tuesday, France, the former colonial power in Niger, announced its preparations to evacuate its citizens and other European nationals from the country, and three planes from France departed for Niamey for this purpose.

When asked about the reason for not describing what is happening in Niger as a "coup," US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller stated on Monday, "We have not arrived at that description yet because the situation is still evolving."

He continued, "It has not been clear yet whether this attempt (to seize power) will ultimately succeed."

According to US law, this description would compel the United States to halt all forms of economic and military cooperation, except for countering jihadists.

However, beyond the legal and linguistic description, for the United States, it involves maintaining room for maneuver in case the coup fails, according to diplomats.

The United States provides hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to Niger, especially humanitarian aid, and deploys about a thousand soldiers in the country as part of the fight against jihadist groups in the Sahel region.

 

AFP