Acting US Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland told reporters she was in Niger and met with several military leaders.
"We met with the self-proclaimed chief of defense of this operation, General [Moussa Salaou] Barmou, and three of the colonels supporting him," Nuland said during a teleconference on Monday. "I will say that these conversations were extremely frank and at times quite difficult because, again, we were pushing for a negotiated solution. It was not easy to get traction there."
Niger's military leaders are quite firm in their view on how they want to proceed, Nuland added.
The US delegation, Nuland said, was frank about what’s at stake for the country if power is not returned to Niger's president Mohamed Bazoum, but Washington is keeping open the door to diplomacy.
Moreover, Nuland pointed out that they made multiple requests for an opportunity to meet directly with Bazoum, who is detained by the military coup leaders, but it was never granted.
The US delegation was also not granted an opportunity to see Niger's self-proclaimed president Abdourahamane Tiani, Nuland added.
