Russian military trainers arrive in Niger as relations with US sour

Footage broadcast on Niger state television on Thursday showed Russian military trainers arriving in a plane equipped with military supplies to bolster Niger’s air defense capabilities as ties with the United States sour.

Two Russian coaches were photographed standing in front of the plane wearing military uniforms, hats and masks. The plane arrived Wednesday night, reports said.

“We are here to train the Nigerian army to use the military equipment here,” a Russian coach said in French on the broadcast. “We are here to develop military cooperation between Russia and Niger.”

Until recently, Washington viewed Niger as a key partner and ally in the region that has faced failed coup attempts in recent years.

The establishment of the U.S. air base is central to Niger’s counterinsurgency operations in the sub-Saharan Sahel region. Since 2012, the region has been rocked by a worsening insurgency fought by groups linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.

The United States has invested heavily in training Niger’s military to fight off insurgents that have ravaged the country and its neighbors, but last summer some of these elite American-trained troops participated in a coup that ousted the democratically elected president.

U.S. relations with Niger slipped further last month when the junta declared on state television that flights from its air bases were illegal and that it would no longer recognize the U.S. military presence in the country. The junta criticized the United States for trying to force it to choose between partners and warned them not to cooperate with Russia and Iran.

U.S. officials said Niamey has not yet ordered the withdrawal of U.S. troops.

The Russian trainers arrived after a phone call in March between Russian President Vladimir Putin and the country’s military leaders, the broadcast said. Niger’s military leaders are seeking to diversify partnerships and achieve greater sovereignty, the broadcast said.