Niger Prime Minister: Ending military cooperation with Washington is caused by its threat to us
Niger’s Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine said the reason his country ended its military cooperation with the United States was because it had received threats from US officials.
Lamine Zeine said in an interview with The Washington Post that Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Molly Phee, when she visited Niamey at the head of a US delegation last March, threatened to impose sanctions on Niger if Niamey signs an agreement to sell uranium to Iran.
The Nigerien official said he responded by saying, “First you come here and threaten us in our country… This is unacceptable, and you come to tell us with whom we can have relationships, which is also unacceptable… You do it in a condescending tone and with disrespect”.
Coming to Niger and “allowing terrorists” to attack it “isn’t a sign of friendship”, Niger’s Prime Minister said, downplaying the US military presence in his country, “The US stayed on our soil without doing anything when the terrorists were killing our people and burning our towns”.
Lamine Zeine praised other partners such as Russia, Türkiye and the United Arab Emirates, who he said welcomed the new military authorities in Niamey with open arms.
Niger’s ruling military junta on March 16 revoked a military cooperation agreement with the United States in 2012.
Washington agreed in mid-April to withdraw its more than a thousand troops from Niger and is discussing the terms of the withdrawal.
The US State Department spokesman Vidant Patel told the press that the US diplomacy offered an option that stems from its convictions about democratic principles and national security interests.
The US official added that his country had decided to withdraw its troops “in an orderly and responsible manner” after reaching the conclusion that the two countries were “unable to reach an agreement in principle”.
