NIGER. Algeria took its opposition to military intervention to Blinken, and what happened?

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune responded to the July 26 Niger coup by declaring that any possible military intervention there would be a “direct threat to Algeria,” and that “there will be no resolution without Algeria.” Then Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf flew to Washington and met with Secretary of State Tony Blinken Aug. 9. Recall that Blinken’s stance before this meeting was that the U.S. backed the efforts of ECOWAS, which was threatening Niger with military intervention.

Agence Nigerienne de Presse reported Aug. 10 on the Attaf-Blinken meeting, stating that there is a “consensus of Algiers and Washington to ‘favor peaceful solutions to these crises in order to avoid the dangers of the military option in the region.’ On the situation in Niger, Ahmed Attaf and his American counterpart also affirmed that Algeria and Washington agree on ‘the need to avoid a military option in Niger’.”

Well done!

When ECOWAS held its second summit on Aug. 10, the day after the Attaf-Blinken meeting, Chairman Bola Tinubu and the body backed away from their threat of military intervention, except as a last resort. The Russian Foreign Ministry then warned again, and more pointedly, that any military intervention would trigger a “protracted confrontation,” with very serious consequences for the whole region.

The generals then canceled outright their planning meeting for a possible military “last resort,” scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 12.

Original Article Here