Agreement Between Algeria And ECOWAS In Support Of A Political Solution In Niger

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and the National Community Abroad, Ahmed Attaf, said Friday evening in Cotonou (Benin) that the return to constitutional order in Niger is a “common objective” of Algeria and the Economic Community of West African States, “which are currently seeking a political solution” to the crisis in Niger.
In a statement to the press during a working visit he paid to Benin at the request of the President of the Republic, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, Mr. Attaf said, “We are walking, whether within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) or in Algeria, on the same plan of action, which is to coordinate our efforts as much as possible to achieve a common goal, which is to achieve the return to constitutional order in Niger.
And making it clear that “the Economic Community of West African States, like Algeria, seeks to support a peaceful solution to the crisis in Niger,” the minister reaffirmed “strongly that the crisis in Niger is a crisis resulting from unconstitutional change” and that this crisis “if it is the focus of the concerns of the economic group, is also in Algeria’s concerns.
In the same context, the Foreign Minister affirmed that Algeria “is always opposed to foreign (military) interventions, wherever they may be”, recalling the disastrous consequences of military interventions in Iraq, Syria and Libya.
He went on to say that Algeria has always considered the use of force “a complicating factor that does not contribute to finding a solution.
He also mentioned that Algeria “firmly adheres to the principle of rejecting unconstitutional changes, as this criterion was approved in 1999 during the African Summit in Algiers” and therefore, the Minister added, “Algeria considers itself, in a certain way, the political and moral depositary of this criterion”.
For his part, the Beninese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bakary Agadi Ochelgon, stressed “the congruence of views between Algeria and the Economic Community of West African States, and therefore between Algeria and Benin” on the crisis in Niger.
In the same context, the Minister emphasized, “We share the principle of coming to power through elections and not through arms,” adding, “We also share the principle of not allowing the proliferation of unconstitutional military regimes in the region.
And he added, “We will work together to achieve as soon as possible the goals set by Presidents Abdelmadjid Tebboune and Patrice Talon (President of Benin) regarding Niger.”