Russian President Vladimir Putin called for a peaceful resolution to the Niger crisis in a telephone call with Mali’s President, Assimi Goita, the Kremlin said on Tuesday.

“The importance of resolving the situation with regard to the Republic of Niger exclusively by peaceful political and diplomatic means was emphasised,” the Kremlin said.

Niger has strategic significance for the United States, China, Europe, and Russia due to its uranium and oil resources and its role as a hub for foreign forces fighting armed groups in the region. The call is likely to rattle Western governments that fear growing Russian influence in the Sahel.

Putin has been meeting with the West African leaders backing Niger’s coupists since they toppled the democratically elected government of deposed president Mohamed Bazoum on July 26. He met privately with Burkina Faso’s interim military leader, Captain Ibrahim Traore, last week, over the Niger crisis.

There were speculations that the meeting was part of Putin’s plans to meet with French-speaking West African countries ruled by the military. Mali and Burkina Faso have pledged their support to Niger, as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) continually looks for mechanisms to resolve the crisis.

West African army chiefs will meet on Thursday and Friday in Ghana to prepare for a possible military intervention, which the main regional bloc, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has threatened to launch if diplomacy fails.

Any military intervention could further destabilize the impoverished Sahel, where conflicts waged by groups linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS) have displaced millions over the past decade and fueled a hunger crisis.

(c) Aljazera