Victoria Nuland, a top U.S. diplomat, has said the coup leaders in Niger refused to let her meet with Niger’s deposed president, Mohamed Bazoum, who is currently under house arrest after being ousted in a military coup last month.

The U.S. acting deputy secretary of state, Ms Nuland, who was in the country on a visit, said in a statement published at the U.S. Department of State that the junta officers were resistant to talks in an attempt to place the country back under civilian authority.

Ms Nuland stated that she had a “frank and difficult” conversation with General Moussa Barmou, the self-declared commander of the operation’s defence, and three of the colonels who support him, as well as a broad cross-section of Nigerien civil society, including journalists and activists, during a two-hour meeting she had in the capital of Niger, Niamey.

She also added that the junta did not respond to her requests to meet Niger’s self-proclaimed new leader, Gen Abdourahamane Tiani, or to meet with President Bazoum, who has been placed under house arrest with his wife and son since the military coup of July 26. 

“We asked before we arrived and throughout the day for an opportunity to meet with President Bazoum to get his perspective directly – we’ve talked to him on the phone, but we haven’t seen him – and that was never granted,” she said.

“We also asked for some gestures of health and welfare; he is in a very difficult situation under virtual house arrest, along with his son and his wife. I hope, over the coming period, the people responsible for the current situation will come back to those requests.

“We also were not granted an opportunity to see the self-proclaimed president, Mr. Tiani. So we were left to have to depend on Mr Barmou to make clear, again, what is at stake,” Ms Nuland added.

As a result, she highlighted how, despite a difficult mediated engagement with the junta, the U.S. government left the door open to continue discussing possible measures to restore the democratically elected president. “But, once again, it was difficult today, and I will be honest about that,” she said, insisting that the coupists were adamant about how they intended to go about their mission.

Ms Nuland said, “And then we met with the self-proclaimed chief of defence of this operation, General Barmou, and three of the colonels supporting him. I will say that these conversations were extremely frank and at times, quite difficult because, again, we were pushing for a negotiated solution. It was not easy to get traction there.

“They are quite firm in their view on how they want to proceed, and it does not comport with the constitution of Niger. So again, we were very frank about what’s at stake. We kept opening the door to continue talking. But again, it was difficult today, and I will be straight up about that.”

Her remarks come as the Economic Community of West African States ECOWAS plans another meeting with Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, who is currently the head of the West African bloc, ECOWAS, as the one-week ultimatum issued to the military junta in Niger Republic ended Sunday at midnight.

ECOWAS imposed penalties on the coup leaders, while Nigeria cut electric supplies and closed its borders with the uranium-rich West African country.