Washington [US], September 1: EU foreign ministers in the Spanish city of Toledo stressed the value of democracy on Thursday as they considered the fallout of the military coup in Niger, and as well debating the bloc's continued support for Ukraine against the Russia invasion.
Sanctions on the Niger junta and organisations that support them are to be examined after a push from Germany and France and a proposal from the European Union's top diplomat Josep Borrell.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said before the meeting that the EU has to stand "by other democracies when they need us" and that sanctions on the Niger junta were important to achieve this.
The EU is looking to reassess its approach to the Sahel region. The announcement on Wednesday that the military in Gabon, to the south of the Sahel, had also declared a coup has added more political uncertainty to the bloc's policies.
Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin said that there was "a lot of room for reflection" for the bloc's approach to African countries after a spate of coups. Training militaries to fight terrorist groups in Africa that in turn seize power "presents a very significant dilemma," Martin said, stressing that humanitarian development must not be overlooked.
Another issue troubling EU foreign ministers is how to support the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) which has threatened the use of force to reinstate the Nigerien constitution.
The EU needs "to defend democracy through diplomacy, not through weapons," Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said, cautioning against a military intervention that risks displacing more people in the Sahel.
Ahead of the 78th United Nations General Assembly and the G20 summit in India, EU foreign ministers are also discussing Ukraine's diplomatic campaign to end the Russian invasion with their Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba.
Source: Qatar Tribune