Nigerien Defense Minister General Salifou Mody met Togo’s President Faure Gnassingbe in Togo’s capital, Lomé, in which he proposed that Gnassingbe act as mediator between Niger and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). He also proposed that Togo be a guarantor in a deal for French troops to withdraw from Niger, reported Channels Television yesterday.
ECOWAS has imposed sanctions on Niger and closed border trade, demanding that President Mohamed Bazoum be brought back into power. Togo is a member of ECOWAS.
“We have never closed our country to friends. It is always important to remind our partners that Niger is open, even if arrangements have been made so that we cannot address our partners,” Mody told reporters after the meeting. “We also asked the President of the Republic of Togo to be a facilitator, to be able to facilitate this dialogue with our various partners.”
