Hommam Al Nassim 
Niger’s interior ministry confirmed on Wednesday that the United States will soon present a “draft” on “withdrawal arrangements” for its troops deployed in the country, after canceling a cooperation agreement with Washington.
The ministry said in a statement that US Ambassador Kathleen Fitzgibbon made the announcement during a meeting Wednesday with Nigerien Interior Minister General Mohamed Tomba.
According to the statement, the US diplomat announced that “her country will return with a project” related to “arrangements for the withdrawal of US troops from Nigerien territory,” which number just over a thousand troops. No date was given.
Fitzgibon said the United States had “taken note of Niger’s decision” to cancel the military agreement and that the withdrawal project would be “discussed” between the parties, the ministry said.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller did not want to comment on the Nigerien statement, stressing that the situation of U.S. forces in Niger remains “overall” the same for now.
Miller added that the United States was “in contact with the transitional authorities (in Niamey) to seek clarifications” on the subject, stressing that talking about the content of these discussions would not be “productive.”
There are about a thousand U.S. troops in Niger, and Washington has a large drone base in Agadez (north).
In mid-March, Niger scrapped its 2012 cooperation agreement with the United States, saying it was “unilaterally imposed”.
After taking office on July 26, the new authorities demanded the withdrawal of French troops and began a rapprochement with Russia, similar to what neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso did.
In mid-January, Russia announced that it had agreed to “intensify” its military cooperation with Niger. A Russian delegation flew to Niamey in December for discussions with the military, and agreements on strengthening military cooperation were then signed.
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