Russia on Friday warned against a military intervention in Niger, a day after West African leaders said they would muster a \u201cstandby\u201d force in their efforts to return the president toppled by a coup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe believe that a military solution to the crisis in Niger could lead to a protracted confrontation in that African country, and to a sharp destabilisation of the situation in the Sahara-Sahel region as a whole,\u201d the Russian foreign ministry said in a report by global news agency,\u00a0AFP<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Recall West African leaders approved the deployment of a \u201cstandby force to restore constitutional order\u201d in Niger, an intervention that will take place as soon as possible, Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara said Thursday. The ECOWAS regional bloc did not provide details on the force to be deployed or the timetable for action against the military officers who seized control of Niger two weeks ago, deposing Mohamed Bazoum as president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But on his return to Abidjan from the emergency summit in Nigeria\u2019s capital Abuja, Ouattara said: \u201cThe Chiefs of Staff will have other conferences to finalise things but they have the agreement of the Conference of Heads of State for the operation to start as soon as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ivory Coast would provide a battalion of 850 to 1,100 men alongside soldiers from Nigeria and Benin, and other countries would join them, Ouattara said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe are determined to restore president Bazoum to his functions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier, in Abuja, ECOWAS Commission President Omar Touray had announced the deployment of the bloc\u2019s force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for a non-violent solution to reverse the coup, praising the \u201cdetermination of ECOWAS to explore all options for the peaceful resolution of the crisis\u201d in a statement on Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The bloc was \u201cplaying a key role in making clear the imperative of a return to constitutional order, and we very much support ECOWAS\u2019 leadership and work on this\u201d, he told reporters earlier Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Former colonial power France gave its \u201cfull support to all the conclusions\u201d ECOWAS reached, the foreign ministry said. But even as the summit took place, Niger\u2019s new military rulers moved to consolidate their position and signalled further defiance by appointing a new government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A 21-member cabinet will be headed by Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, a civilian, with generals from the new military governing council leading the defence and interior ministries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The coup leaders have already defied the Sunday deadline set by ECOWAS a week earlier to reinstate Bazoum \u2014 detained since July 26 \u2014 or face military possible intervention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Abuja, Nigeria\u2019s President Bola Tinubu, who chaired the crisis meeting, said: \u201cAll is not lost yet\u201d for a \u201cpeaceful solution, as a roadmap to restore democracy and stability\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But he added: \u201cNo option is taken off the table, including the use of force as a last resort.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before the closed-door talks, Tinubu had insisted that \u201cwe prioritise diplomatic negotiations and dialogue as the bedrock of our approach\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The 15-nation bloc is struggling to stem military takeovers that have now swept through four of its members in three years, potentially heralding fresh instability in a region struggling for years against jihadist insurgencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before the meeting, Tinubu acknowledged that \u201cthe seven-day ultimatum we issued during the first summit has not yielded the desired outcome\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An attempt this week to send a joint team of ECOWAS, UN and African Union representatives to Niger\u2019s capital Niamey was rejected by the coup leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe must engage all parties involved, including the coup leaders, in earnest discussions to convince them to relinquish power and reinstate President Bazoum,\u201d Tinubu said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Russia on Friday warned against a military intervention in Niger, a day after West African leaders said they would muster a \u201cstandby\u201d force in their efforts to return the president<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7673,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_rishi_post_view_count":253},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7672","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politica","rishi-post"],"rishi__cb_customizer_meta":"","comments_count":"0","yoast_head":"\n
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<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u2013 \u2018We must engage\u2019 \u2013<\/h2>\n\n\n\n