US Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, who visited Niger's capital Niamey the day before, told reporters about her meeting with the rebels. According to her, the negotiations were difficult.
Victoria Nuland stressed that during her visit to Niamey she planned to meet with the country's ousted President Mohammed Bazum. However, representatives of the presidential guard, who took power in Niger into their own hands, did not allow her to do this.
I requested a meeting with the detained President Mohamed Bazum, but the military junta did not allow me to meet with him. I did not have the opportunity to meet with the leader of the coup, General Abdurahman Chiani
– admitted Victoria Nuland.
At the same time, the US Deputy Secretary of State stressed that the meeting with the leaders of the coup in Niger opened the way for further negotiations. In the meantime, the United States has suspended financial assistance to Niger.
I wanted to point out to the coup leaders the impact of not restoring democracy on US-Niger relations. The Republic risks losing its military and economic hundreds of millions of dollars in aid
- said the Deputy Secretary of State of the United States.
She noted that in the United States, the actions of the Niger military are considered unconstitutional, but they intend to continue searching for a diplomatic way to resolve the situation in the country.
Recall that it was Victoria Nuland who handed out cookies to protesters during the anti-constitutional coup in Kyiv in February 2014. At that time, the actions of the Ukrainian opposition did not raise any questions from the US authorities. Moreover, Washington openly supported the armed seizure of power in Kyiv, immediately establishing official political contacts with the military junta.