MADRID, September 1. /TASS/. An agreement with the rebels who have seized power in Niger will be reached only if and when they agree to leave, the foreign minister in the government of the deposed president, Hassoumi Massaoudou, told the El Pais newspaper in an interview.

"They (the rebels - TASS) must give up power and reinstate President [Mohamed] Bazoum. No settlement is expected without Bazoum's return to the post of the president. The only condition facing the rebels is they must give up," Massaoudou noted.

He said sanctions by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) would be accompanied by military intervention unless the plotters refused to cede power. As soon as the rebels drop their claims to power, the government will be ready to discuss their fate, Massaoudou added.

In late July, a group of military officers from the presidential guard mutinied in Niger and announced Bazoum's removal from power. The rebels formed the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland, led by the Guard’s commander Abdourahmane Tchiani, to govern the country. ECOWAS, in which Niger's membership was suspended, imposed sanctions on the mutineers and demanded that they release Bazoum, threatening to use force otherwise.