MADRID, September 1. /TASS/. The foreign minister in the government of ousted Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum Hassoumi Massoudou says his country was a "pole of stability" with no prerequisites for a coup at all.

"There was no political crisis or social crisis. As far as the fight against terrorism is concerned, our country’s results have been the best in the whole region. Niger is a pole of stability. There was not a single reason for this coup. It was an act of malice," Massoudou told the El Pais newspaper.

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. The leaders of countries affiliated with the ECOWAS group, in which Niger's membership was suspended, imposed sanctions on the mutineers and demanded that they release Bazoum, threatening to use force otherwise.