West Africa junta regimes seek reentry to regional blocs

Foreign ministers from three West African countries that have undergone military coups called for their reinstatement into two key regional blocs following a trip to the region by Russian envoy Sergei Lavrov.

The top diplomats of Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso said in a joint statement that they had agreed to work together to push for the lifting of their suspensions from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union (AU).

Abdoulaye Diop of Mali, Morissanda Kouyate of Guinea and Burkina's Olivia Rouamba held talks in Ouagadougou after Lavrov travelled to Mali earlier in the week to pledge assistance to West African countries battling jihadists.

The three countries had "agreed to pool their efforts and undertake joint initiatives for the lifting of the suspension measures and other restrictions" taken by ECOWAS and the AU, according to a joint statement released after the meeting.

A string of coups has unfolded in the three countries since 2020, bringing in juntas that have bristled at external demands to restore civilian rule and leading to suspensions from regional groups.

Mounting insecurity in the Sahel region led the three ministers to agree on "the need to combine their efforts and those of the countries of the sub-region and the region to deal with this scourge," the statement said.