The national television channel Tele Sahel said a U.S. delegation, including Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Molly Phee, had met with the Nigerien prime minister in Niamey.
Earlier Tuesday the State Department said General Michael Langley, the commander of U.S. Africa Command, was part of a delegation visiting Niger through Wednesday.
In a brief statement, the State Department said the U.S. delegation will hold talks with the junta on “Niger's return to a democratic path and the future of our security and development partnership."
The United States still stations some 1,000 troops in Niger at a desert drone base built at a cost of $100 million — although movements have been limited since the coup and Washington has curbed assistance to the government.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken paid a rare visit to Niger a year ago in hopes of shoring up Mohamed Bazoum, the elected president and stalwart ally in Western security efforts against jihadists.
Just four months later, the military deposed Bazoum and put him under house arrest.
The junta took a hard line against former colonial power France, forcing the withdrawal of French troops in place for nearly a decade.
Niger's military, which has worked closely with the United States, has not demanded a similar pullout of U.S. forces. But the junta has sought cooperation with Russia, while stopping short of the full-fledged embrace of Moscow by military-run neighbors Mali and Burkina Faso.
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