Niger has expressed its willingness to host a fully operational Russian military base on its territory, as reported by the newspaper "Izvestia."
"We are interested in a full-fledged Russian military base, and we are ready to host it," said Addo Iro, the honorary consul of the Russian Federation in Niger (an honorary consul is not a career diplomat but performs consular functions on behalf of the representing state with the consent of the host state, typically being a citizen of the host country). According to Iro, Niger aims to reduce the number of terrorist attacks through this initiative.
On June 8, the United States and Niger announced the commencement of the withdrawal of American troops from the African country. An agreement on the withdrawal of the American contingent was reached in mid-May. Before the coup last year, which resulted in the overthrow of Niger's President Mohamed Bazoum by the head of the presidential guard, Abdourahamane Tchiani, American soldiers were involved in training and intelligence operations for Niger's forces. In March, Niger terminated a military agreement with the US, under which an American drone base had been established in the north of the country. The authorities stated that the agreement was imposed and did not serve the interests of the people. By the end of 2023, there were approximately 1,100 US military personnel in Niger, most of whom were stationed at an airbase near Agadez.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Vincent van Zeijst/Creative Commons 4.0
Based on materials from TASS