Russia warned Friday that any military intervetion in Niger could lead to a prolonged conflict and instability in the whole West African region.
The military intervention could ignate a long conflict and cause instability in the whole Sahel region, the Russian Foreign Ministry cautioned in a statement.
The ministry affirmed that it closely follows up the sitaution in Niger and it backs the diplomatic and political efforts of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to restore the constitutional order there.
It, however, regretted the decsion taken by ECOWAS leaders to intervene militarily in Niger and the announcement of the authorities in Niger of its intention to stand up against any foreign military intervention.
The 15 members of ECOWAS: are Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cote d?’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.
The ECOWAS said on Thursday that it had ordered the deployment of a standby force to Niger to restore constitutional order.
The announcement came after the bloc convened an emergency meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, to discuss the crisis in Niger and its previous threat of militarily intervening if the coup?’s leaders did not reinstate Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum by last Sunday.
On the other hand, Mali and Burkina Faso said they would support the new authorities in Niger to face any foreign military intervention
Source: Kuwait News Agency