Toledo became the center of global geopolitical action this Thursday. Castile-La Mancha city for example head of the interim government Niger in exile, Hassoumi Massoudou. While he was the Minister of Foreign Affairs before, he became the official representative of the Government after the military coup in the African country. Legitimately elected president in elections, Mohammed BazumHe was locked in the country’s capital, Niamey, by the military for more than a month without electricity and sometimes without water.
Massoudou exposed his country’s situation in front of 27 foreign ministers who met at the informal summit held in Toledo as part of Spain’s presidency of the European Council. The head of European diplomacy and Spanish diplomacy surrounded him, Josep Borrell And Jose Manuel Albares. Both expressed their support for Bazoum’s legitimate government and demanded his release, but were unwilling to say whether he would support the 27’s plans for military intervention against the coup plotters. “We are eliminating the political and moral support of the EU”After leaving his meeting with European ministers, Massoudou limited himself to telling reporters.
French ambassador in Niamey
France had breakfast today with the news that the Niger coup junta lifted the diplomatic immunity of its ambassador in Niamey. Sylvain Itte. His and his family members’ diplomatic documents and visas were revoked. The situation is tense and it is unknown how it will end. They had ordered him to leave the country, but Emmanuel Macron had given the order to resist: Paris does not recognize the authority of the military rebels. They instructed the security forces to expel the French diplomat.
Macron’s government is at the forefront of Europe in supporting military intervention. He came to ask permission from Algiers to fly over his airspace, but was unsuccessful.
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Nigeria already has a plan to deploy troops; They say they are ready to enter the country. But there is currently no movement on the ground and Paris’ position does not seem to be shared by other partners focused on supporting Ukraine.
Both Albares and Borell have repeatedly avoided deciding whether Spain or the EU should support ECOWAS, respectively. In case they decide to invade Niger to restore order. For example, the financing of the military intervention force. They do not ignore this, but for now, the diplomatic and political path is valid. And they’re waiting for Cedeao to decide. “African solutions to Africa’s problems,” the two senior diplomats tirelessly repeated. “We will see what they want to do. We will decide accordingly”Borrel said. “For now, the solution is to try political dialogue; we will make other decisions with our European partners when other positions are accepted,” Albares said. she insisted.
What Spain, like 27 other countries, will do, which was decided in Toledo on Thursday, is to launch a “hard package of sanctions” against the coup d’etat. The idea is that duplicate sanctions These are the ones already imposed by African countries. Borrell said individual sanctions, which include “humanitarian exceptions”, do not want to cause a crisis in “the world’s second poorest country”.
Gabon is not Niger
The European High Representative has twice insisted on making a distinction between the coup in Niger on 26 July and the coup in Gabon this Wednesday. He said he raised “many doubts” about the “democratic validity” of the elections, which gave Gabon a new mandate to President Ali Bongo. Conversely, in Niger Bazoum was elected in fair elections. Yes, nothing justifies coups and calls for resolving differences in Gabon through inclusive dialogue.
This series of coups sends a message to Brussels. Borrell realized that the Twenty-Seven would have to do a mission. An in-depth study of its policy towards AfricaGiven the succession of riots, “it’s clear things are not going well”.
money for ukraine
The war in Ukraine was another important topic of this informal council, in which the Minister of Foreign Affairs was also present. Dimitro Kuleba. He asked for more weapons from Spain: tanks, anti-aircraft defense systems and ammunition. He also made harsh accusations to those from the West and through the media who criticized the slowness of Ukraine’s counterattack. “I ask them to shut up and come to Ukraine to liberate even one square centimeter of land,” concluded the head of Ukrainian diplomacy.
Ministers discussed Borrell’s proposal to allocate 20,000 million euros in the amount of 5,000 million euros per year over the next four years. European Peace Mechanism The continuation of military assistance to Ukraine in a predictable manner over time. He also wants it to rise 40,000 Ukrainian army They will receive training from EU Member States.
As head of the European Council, Spain will have to decide within a few months whether to ratify the EU. Ukraine’s accession negotiations To the European Union after reading the Commission’s report, scheduled for publication in October. Albares emphasized that our country is determined to start the process. Kuleba, who appeared before journalists in Toledo, said he was confident it would happen this year.