PARIS (Reuters) – France’s foreign minister said on Friday that a power grab in Niger was not definitive and that those responsible still had time to accede to international demands that the ousted president be reinstated.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of trip by French President Emmanuel Macron to Papua New Guinea, Catherine Colonna also said countries in the West African ECOWAS bloc were likely to meet on Sunday with a discussion on imposing sanctions possible.
“If you hear me say attempted coup d’etat, it’s because we don’t consider that things are definitive,” Colonna was quoted by French media as saying. The foreign ministry confirmed the broad lines of her comments.
Niger President Mohamed Bazoum is being held in the presidential palace and it remains unclear who is in charge of the country after soldiers on Wednesday evening declared a coup that sparked widespread condemnation.
In a statement signed by its chief of staff, the army on Thursday declared support for the soldiers who stripped President Mohamed Bazoum of power. It said its priority was to avoid destabilising the country.
Colonna said Macron had spoken to Bazoum on Friday and that he was in good health and should be released as a condition of restoring constitutional order.
“President Bazoum must be restored to his constitutional functions,” Colonna said.
A French diplomatic source said on Thursday that the situation remained “very confused”.
(Reporting by John Irish; editing by John Stonestreet)
