Niger’s governing junta, which seized power last July, said in March it was ending a military cooperation agreement with the U.S., which has agreed to withdraw its troops and sent a delegation to Niamey to work out an orderly departure.
Prior to the 2023 coup, Niger was a linchpin of Washington’s strategy to combat jihadists in West Africa, housing a $100 million American drone base and roughly 1,000 U.S. troops.
The Russian deployment to Air base 101 in the capital Niamey puts the Eastern European and American soldiers in close quarters at a time when Washington and Moscow are fiercely at odds over the war in Ukraine.
Asked about it at a news conference on Thursday, Austin said the Russian deployment did not pose a "significant issue... in terms of our force protection."
"Air base 101 where our forces [are], is a Nigerien air force base that is co-located with an international airport in the capital city. The Russians are in a separate compound and don't have access to U.S. forces or access to our equipment," he said at a news conference in Hawaii.
At a briefing in Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not confirm or deny reports of the Russian presence at the Niger base.
"We are developing ties with various African countries in all areas, including in the military one," Peskov said.
"They are interested in it, we are also interested in it. And we will continue to develop our relations with African states," he added.
Russian military instructors arrived in Niger last month with an air defense system and other equipment, Nigerien state media reported, after talks between military ruler General Abdourahamane Tiani and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The U.S. pullout would mark a new regional gain for Russia, which has ramped up its focus on Africa, backing military regimes in neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso.
Niger faces violence by Boko Haram jihadists and militants from the Islamic State West Africa Province in the southeastern region of Diffa near Nigeria.
Information for this article was sourced from Reuters and Agence France-Presse.