Niger denounced, Saturday March 16 in the evening “with immediate effect”, the military cooperation agreement with the United States. An agreement signed in 2012, while the Americans today have around a thousand soldiers in the country, as well as a large drone base in Agadez. On national television, the government spokesperson judged this cooperation “unfair” and “not meeting expectations”.
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According to Colonel-Major Amadou Abdramane, the cooperation agreement would be “ a simple verbal note “, ” unilaterally imposed » by Washington. The document would force Niger to pay its bills related to taxes on American aircraft, which would cost several billions, according to the spokesperson. Niamey also complains of having no information on American operations, while ignoring their personnel and equipment deployed.
Thus, the member of the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Fatherland (CNSP) judged “ illegal » the American presence on Nigerien territory. This decision follows the visit, between Tuesday March 12 and Thursday March 14, of a high-level American delegation to Niamey. An encounter ” without respect for diplomatic practices ” And ” imposed », According to Amadou Abdramane.
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The discussions would have focused on the current transition and the choice of foreign partners. According to the colonel-major, the Americans accused Niamey of having signed secret agreements, whether in the military field with Russia, or on uranium with Iran. The spokesperson recalled that partnerships with Moscow or Iran respected international law, while, according to him, American planes have been flying illegally over Niger for several weeks. The colonel-major thus denounced a “ condescending attitude and threat of retaliation ” Americans. What ” undermine relationships ” And ” undermine trust between our governments “, he said.
Amadou Abdramane recalled that these foreign partnerships respected international law, while on July 26, after the coup d’état, Washington had suspended ” unilaterally and abruptly ” her military cooperation with Niger. The decision of this Saturday March 16 thus sounds like a retaliatory measure from Niamey.
The spokesperson for the US State Department, Matthew Miller, announced on X (formerly Twitter) that Washington had taken note of the CNSP press release and that it followed “ frank discussions (…) about our concerns ” about the ” path » of the junta. The United States is still in contact with the junta and will provide further information “ if necessary “, he added.