The Kremlin urged all parties to maintain caution in Niger, where a junta took control in a coup last week and arrested President Mohamed Bazoum.
“We call for the rapid restoration of the rule of law in the country and for restraint from all parties so that this doesn’t result in human casualties,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
General Abdourahamane Tiani, the chief of the strong presidential guard, has declared himself leader of the Sahel for the third time in three years.
Tiani claimed the putsch was in response to “the degradation of the security situation” caused by jihadist murder, as well as corruption and economic problems.
African leaders offered the junta one week to relinquish power or face the use of force.
“What is happening (in Niger) is a matter of grave concern,” Peskov said.
Bazoum is one of a shrinking number of elected presidents and pro-Western leaders in the Sahel, where jihadist insurgencies have caused coups in Mali and Burkina Faso since 2020.
On Monday, the new junta accused former colonial master France of wishing to “intervene militarily” to restore Bazoum.
Russia said last week that it expected the military to “rapidly release President Bazoum.”
