ROME, August 23. /TASS/. Italian Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani stated his support to the path of dialogue in Africa, and in Niger, where military rebels ousted President Mohamed Bazoum in July, in particular.
"I expect that the path of dialogue will always prevail, even if we have voiced our support to the ousted president," he said during the "Meeting for Friendship Amongst Peoples" in Rimini.
"We have never considered a Western or a European military intervention in order to impose a more acceptable government," Tajani continued. "This would have caused a negative reaction in the entire Africa, and all of us would have been viewed as colonizers. This is not how one does business with Africa."
Earlier, the Italian Foreign Ministry said that the topic of Africa will become one of the key points during Rome’s chairmanship of the G7 in 2024.
In late July, a group of military rebels in Niger announced the ouster of President Mohamed Bazoum. They then established the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Country, headed by General Abdourahmane Tchiani, to run the country. Leaders of the ECOWAS countries slapped harsh sanctions on Niger and demanded that the mutinous soldier release Bazoum, or face the use of force.