“They were quite firm about how they want to proceed, and it is not in support of the constitution of Niger,” Nuland told reporters. A spokesman for the coup leaders, Col. Maj. Amadou Abdramane, noted “the threat of intervention being prepared in a neighboring country,” and said Niger’s airspace will be closed until further notice. Also Monday, Mali said it and Burkina Faso, both neighbors of Niger run by military juntas, were sending delegations to Niger to show support. It was not immediately clear what ECOWAS leaders will do now. However, Nuland indicated that coup leaders did not seem receptive to welcoming Wagner mercenaries into the country, as has happened with several surrounding unstable West African countries.