Josep Borrell, during a conference in New York, expressed “his full solidarity” with Paris, while the French ambassador to Niger is under expulsion from the putschists.
The head of diplomacy of the European Union expressed this Monday “his full solidarity” with France, whose ambassador to Niger is under the expulsion of the soldiers who took power. Paris does not recognize the Nigerien authorities resulting from the coup d’etat which occurred at the end of July and as such refuses the departure of Sylvain Itte as demanded by the putschists.
“We expressed our solidarity with France regarding its ambassador,” Josep Borrell said at a conference in New York following a meeting of EU foreign ministers.
He also reiterated his “full support” for President Mohamed Bazoum, overthrown and held prisoner by the military.
“We saluted his courage and his determination”, even though he has been detained for two months and does not intend to resign, Josep Borrell also declared.
“Reassess” the EU strategy
On the Sahel, he repeated that the European Union must “reassess” its strategy, its approach, its policies and its expectations. “We have no conclusions,” he added while emphasizing that ministers agreed on one point: the need for a “new approach” in a “much more complex” environment.
He recalled the situation of the Sahel, a neighbor and a partner at the same time, and the importance that member countries attach to the countries of this region, particularly in terms of security.
“We insisted on the idea that we must have African solutions to African problems,” he also declared.
Last week, Josep Borrell recognized that despite hundreds of millions of euros spent in the Sahel, Europeans had failed to strengthen democracy in this region, the victim of a series of military coups, including the last in Niger.
Source: BFM TV
