Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf is preparing to visit Niamey, the capital of Niger, to discuss the arrangements for the Algerian mediation in the country’s crisis, according to Algeria’s foreign ministry.
Niger has accepted an Algerian offer to mediate in its political crisis, the ministry said.
Algeria received Niger's official notification of its acceptance of President Abdelmadjid Tebboune's mediation initiative, the ministry added in a statement read out on national television.
Algiers said: "The acceptance of the Algerian initiative strengthens the prospect of a political solution to this crisis".
The mediation would "pave the way" towards a "peaceful" resolution of the crisis, it added, saying such an outcome is in the interest "of the entire region".
Tebboune said Attaf will be "visiting Niamey as soon as possible with the aim of launching discussions ... with all stakeholders".
On August 23, Attaf was mandated by Tebboune to go on a diplomatic tour to Nigeria, Benin, and Ghana, which form part of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to help find a solution to the crisis in Niger.
Following the coup in Niger, Algeria announced its rejection of any military intervention and stressed the necessity to return to legitimacy.
Algeria shares a 1,000-km southern land border with Niger. The border is considered a haven for extremist Islamist groups, drugs and weapons traffickers, and networks to smuggle illegal migrants to north Algeria to go from there to the European shores.
At the end of August, Algeria proposed a six-month transitional period led by a civilian to solve the crisis in Niger. However, Niger's junta leader General Abdourahmane Tiani said the country will pursue a transition process which will last not more than three years.
The Algerian FM added that the two envoys to Algeria - whether the ambassador in Niamey or the Secretary General of the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and National Community Abroad, Lounes Magramane - didn’t meet the ousted president, Mohamed Bazoum.
Attaf didn’t reveal if Bazoum would be part of the solution according to the mediation plan.
Professor of political science and international relations and Sahel affairs expert, Algerian Mohamed Abdelly, said Algeria’s plan to resolve the conflict can achieve unanimity among all parties.
Yet, he remarked that the six-month plan offers a short period that isn’t enough to resolve the current disputes.
