The situation in Niger: Algeria and ECOWAS call for a return to constitutional order

Cotonou – The Minister of Foreign Affairs and the National Community Abroad, Mr. Ahmed Ataf, affirmed, Friday in Cotonou (Benin), that achieving a return to constitutional order in Niger is a “common goal” of Algeria and the Economic Community of West African States, “which are currently seeking to reach a political solution”. to the crisis in Niger. In a statement to the press during a working visit he led to Benin, commissioned by the President of the Republic, Mr. Abdelmadjid Tebboune, Mr. Ataf said, “We are walking, whether within the Economic Community of West African States or in Algeria, on the same plan of action, which is to coordinate our efforts as much as possible to achieve a common goal, which is Achieving a return to constitutional order in Niger.

Mr Attaf made it clear that “the Economic Community of West African States seeks, like Algeria, to support a peaceful solution to the crisis in Niger,” the minister reaffirmed “strongly, that the crisis in Niger is a crisis resulting from unconstitutional change” and that this crisis “if it is the focus of concerns The economic group is also in Algeria’s concerns. In the same context, the foreign minister affirmed that Algeria “always opposes foreign (military) interventions wherever they may be,” recalling the dire consequences of military interventions in Iraq, Syria and Libya. He went on to say that Algeria has always considered resorting to force “a complicating factor that does not contribute to reaching a solution.”

He also mentioned that Algeria “adheres firmly to the principle of rejecting unconstitutional changes, given that this criterion was approved in 1999 during the African Summit in Algiers,” and therefore, the minister adds, “Algeria considers itself, in a way, the political and moral depositary of this criterion.”

Convergence of Views

For his part, the Beninese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Bakary Agadi Ouchelgon, stressed the “convergence of views between Algeria and the Economic Community of West African States, and therefore between Algeria and Benin” on the crisis in Niger. In the same context, the minister stressed, “We share adherence to the principle of reaching power through elections, not through weapons,” adding, “We also share adherence to not allowing the spread of unconstitutional military regimes in the region.” And he added, “We will work together to achieve the goals set by Presidents Abdelmadjid Tebboune and Patrice Talon (President of Benin) regarding Niger, as soon as possible.”

APS