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French President Emmanuel Macron rejected a demand from Niger’s military rulers to withdraw its troops from the country after a coup strained relations between the two countries.
“If we redeploy, I would do it only at the request of President Bazoum,” Macron said, referring to Niger’s ousted leader, as the G-20 summit wrapped up in New Delhi, India, on Sunday. “We don’t recognize any legitimacy in the declarations from the putschists.”
His comments came after the ruling junta said France was ignoring its request for the 1,500 French troops stationed in Niger to leave the country by Sept. 3. Nigerien and French military officers met earlier this month to discuss a plan for a French troop withdrawal from Niger, a junta spokesman said late Saturday.
“As of today, there’s been no progress regarding the implementation of the plan,” Colonel-Major Amadou Abdramane said in a statement on public broadcaster Tele Sahel.