NIAMEY, Niger — A senior U.S. diplomat said coup leaders in Niger refused to allow her to meet Monday with the West African country’s democratically elected president, whom she described as under “virtual house arrest.”
Acting Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland also described the mutinous officers as unreceptive to U.S. pressure to return the country to civilian rule.
“They were quite firm about how they want to proceed, and it is not in support of the constitution of Niger,” Nuland told reporters. She characterized the conversations as “extremely frank and at times quite difficult.”
She spoke after a two-hour meeting in Niger’s capital, Niamey, with some leaders of the military takeover of a country that has been a vital counterterrorism partner of the United States.
In speaking to junta leaders, Nuland said, she made “absolutely clear the kinds of support that we will legally have to cut off if democracy is not restored.”
If the U.S. determines that a democratically elected government has been toppled by unconstitutional means, federal law requires a cutoff of most American assistance, particularly military aid.
She said she also stressed U.S. concern for the welfare of President Mohamed Bazoum, who she said was being detained with his wife and son.
The meeting was with Gen. Moussa Salaou Barmou, a U.S.-trained officer, and three of the colonels involved in the takeover. The coup’s top leader, former presidential guard head Abdourahamane Tchiani, did not meet with the Americans.
