Despite the military’s control of power in Niger at the end of last July, the administration of US President Joe Biden refuses to describe this as a “coup.”
In an exclusive interview with Sky News Arabia, the regional spokesman for the US State Department, Samuel Warburg, explained his country’s position on Washington’s failure to classify the Niger events as a coup in a number of points:
The United States has not yet classified the situation in Niger as a “coup,” given the complexity of the current situation, and because it is constantly evolving and it is too early to give any description of what is happening. We strive to find a diplomatic solution through which the hard-won democracy of the Nigerien people can be preserved. The status quo is still in flux, and we are watching developments carefully. We continue to support a diplomatic solution aimed at restoring constitutional order in Niger, and we work alongside our regional and international partners to achieve this goal. We have given a clear warning that there will be major consequences if constitutional order is not restored in Niger, and we are fully aware of the challenge that the current situation poses. However, we remain committed to helping the Nigerien people restore their hard-won democracy. We are aware of the deep concern caused by the continued detention of President Mohamed Bazoum and his family in such conditions, and we join ECOWAS and the region’s leaders in calling for their immediate release and the restoration of constitutional order.
Tricky balance
The American newspaper “Politico” considered that the Biden administration’s reluctance to describe the situation in Niger as a coup, “the latest example of Biden’s struggle to strike a balance between the overt reverence for democracy, and the harsh reality of geopolitics, especially when it comes to partner countries that face challenges such as extremism, Especially Niger, which is one of the poorest countries in the world. Several US officials, including Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, have spoken with Bazoum in recent days, calling on the military to return him to power. American press reports considered that describing the events in Niger as a “coup” is a legal decision, and not just a matter of using one word, as it entails ending the military presence, training, and economic aid, and if Washington is forced to freeze aid to Niger, it will present its relations with a decisive and pivotal Western ally. Important for combating terrorism in the Sahel region. Reports indicated that the Biden administration may be trying to keep its options open because there is still hope that the coup can be reversed, and regardless of the outcome, Washington may find a way to work with Niger’s armed forces due to the significant US commitments and interests in the region. This comes at a time when other Western countries rushed to suspend aid, led by France, Germany and the European Union. European Union foreign policy official Josep Borrell described the events directly as a “coup.”
Official penalties and procedures
In turn, the director of the Center for Political and Military Analysis at the American Hudson Institute, Richard Weitz, explained in exclusive statements to “Sky News Arabia” that the main reason behind the American position is not to describe the events in Niger as a coup, that if officials in the Biden administration made such a declaration, then the law The US is forcing them to suspend all aid to the Niger army.
Weitz considered, “This would increase the possibility that the military council in Niger will turn to Russia and Wagner for support, and therefore, at the present time, they want to negotiate a settlement of the crisis and use aid as an incentive for that.”
Regarding the Biden administration’s measures to deal with developments in Niger, the director of the Center for Political and Military Analysis said that they include: “talking with the new leaders in Niger, cooperating with other countries and groups such as ECOWAS, warning of Russian influence, and eventually using sanctions.”
And American researcher Scott Morgan, who specializes in African and national security affairs, agreed in exclusive statements to Sky News Arabia, saying that if the White House decides that what happened in Niger is a coup, a series of sanctions will be applied.
According to Morgan, one of these decisions would be the immediate withdrawal of US forces and drones in the country, but for the time being, most aid, including training with Niger’s army, has only been suspended.
He pointed out that the other side is that the end of the American presence leaves a huge void regarding the security interests of the United States in the Sahel region, and it will be difficult to fill it.
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2023-08-12 20:39:39
