On Wednesday, Niger’s Interior Ministry said the United States had promised to submit a plan for the "disengagement" of troops from the West African country after Niamey ended its military pact with Washington. The statement was published on social media after Nigerien Interior Minister Mohamed Toumba hosted US Ambassador Kathleen FitzGibbon for talks earlier in the day.
"There continue to be ongoing discussions at this time," Ryder said during a press briefing. "There's been no decisions made at this stage on the movement of US forces, and we're still working to get clarification from the CNSP [National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland] in that regard."
Ryder said he had nothing specific to provide related to the ministry's statement.
The transitional government in Niger said the US diplomat also confirmed that Washington had taken note of its decision to denounce the 2012 pact that allowed US military personnel and civilian Pentagon employees to operate on Niger's soil.
Earlier this month, a spokesperson for the Nigerien military said that the country’s transitional government, which took power in a coup last July, ended the military agreement with immediate effect, citing the interests of the Nigerien people.
A Nigerien government source told Sputnik last week that the US was expected to share its plans for military pullout because Niger was unaware of the actual size of US military presence in the country.