US Air Force Base 201 sits on a barren strip of land in the Sahara, far from the public eye, on the outskirts of a remote town in one of the poorest countries in the world. His role has become more elusive than ever since its completion nearly six years ago.

Most drones that once monitored jihadist activity in unstable African countries have been phased out. Most Americans stationed at the $110 million base near the city of Agadez, Niger, sit idle, embodying the uncertain future of the United States’ counterterrorism efforts in West Africa: It’s hard to give up , even if business continues as usual for the time being, out of the question.

After a military coup in Niger in July, the United States and its European partners suspended cooperation with the country, which had become one of Africa’s largest recipients of security and development aid over the past decade.

As the ruling Nigerian junta consolidates his position of poweris now facing the Biden administration exciting new challenges in the fight against militant Islamists in Africa. Chief among them is the question of how to resume operations at US Air Base 201 – the most important military base in a region that is becoming a global center of terrorist activity.

Since the US has called the takeover a coup, it is legally obliged to do so Suspend security measures and development aid to Niger and will only be able to fully resume this once democracy is restored. So while American officials have signaled they would like to resume security cooperation with the Nigerian government, doing so will require a diplomatic approach with former Nigerian President Mohamed Bazoum under house arrest.

Complicating matters for Washington, European countries that have poured hundreds of millions of dollars in aid and sent thousands of troops to Niger are divided over what to do next.

The European Union has suspended aid, and about 2,000 European troops have left the country in recent months at Niger’s request – leaving about 1,000 U.S. troops the only significant Western presence in the country. But several European countries have recently signaled they are ready to normalize relations with the junta.

Added to this is the looming threat from Russia, which wants to exploit any cracks in relations between Niger and Western nations to further expand its regional influence. The Kremlin, which recently signed a new defense deal with Niger, is already the preferred security partner of two neighboring countries battling Islamist insurgencies: Mali and Burkina Faso. The three countries, all now ruled by military governments, have vowed to strengthen cooperation as part of a new security alliance.

“Russia will be there no matter what happens — whether the U.S. is at the table or not,” said Daniel Eizenga, a research fellow at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, a Defense Department research facility.

A U.S. military official said the Pentagon is discussing establishing new drone bases with several West African coastal states to replace the base in landlocked Niger. The talks are still in the early stages and many details still need to be clarified, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss operational issues. First, the Wall Street Journal reported to the discussions on Thursday.

The official added that the U.S. military remains committed to sticking with Air Base 201, the largest construction project ever undertaken by Air Force engineers alone, even as politics in the region are up for debate in Washington and all Decisions were postponed for the time being due to the crises in Gaza and Ukraine.

However, Aneliese Bernard, a former State Department adviser who worked in Niger in the late 2010s, said discussions about moving special forces and drone operations out of the country began some time ago.

“When the coup happened in Niger, they said, ‘Yes, it’s probably going to go to Ghana and Ivory Coast,'” said Ms. Bernard, now a director of Strategic Stabilization Advisors, a Washington-based risk consulting firm, referring to the two western coastal regions African countries.

It is estimated that 11.5 million Nigerians – 44 percent of the population – live in extreme poverty World BankSome analysts say Niger may have a strong incentive to improve relations with the United States and Europe to restart the flow of aid and security money.

U.S. officials and analysts say attacks by militant groups have increased since the coup and hundreds of schools remain closed because of widespread insecurity. Foreign diplomats and humanitarian workers have left the country, and economic sanctions imposed by a bloc of West African nations have contributed to soaring food prices and even caused humanitarian aid to be blocked at the border.

While anti-Western sentiment prevails in Niamey, the capital, many Nigerians feel differently elsewhere in the country, particularly in Agadez, whose historic center is home to the world’s tallest mud-brick mosque and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

“We told the central authorities: ‘Don’t throw out the French and Americans to bring in the Russians,'” said Mohamed Anacko, the president of the council in the Agadez region, where U.S. Air Base 201 is located. “We don’t need new colonizers.”

Many Nigerians may be satisfied with the presence of the United States, but the two countries still have a long way to go. Interactions between the U.S. military and junta leaders are now limited to regular phone calls between Gen. Michael Langley, the head of U.S. Africa Command, and Brigadier General. Gen. Moussa Salaou Barmou, the junta’s defense chief, Africa Command officials said.

For now, what remains is Air Base 201, which once was served as a wider launching pad for surveillance activities armed groups in North, West and even Central Africa are in limbo.

The American military is still conducting unarmed drone surveillance missions to protect its troops stationed in Niamey and Agadez. And as part of the “duty to warn” they pass on to Nigerians any serious threats they discover.

U.S. diplomats have signaled they want to improve relations with the junta and resume security operations at Air Base 201, but how they will accomplish that remains unclear.

The new US ambassador to Niger, Kathleen FitzGibbon, one of Washington’s top Africa specialists, recently presented her credentials to the Nigerian government. During a trip to Niger last month – the second since the coup – Molly Phee, the State Department’s senior Africa official, said the United States intended to resume security and development cooperation, even as she called for a rapid transition to civilian rule and the release of Mr Bazoum, the deposed president.

But Mr Bazoum remains under house arrest at the presidential palace in Niamey with his wife and son, cut off from the rest of the world except for occasional doctor visits. In theory, the junta could announce a timetable for the transition to civilian rule to get some support back from the United States, but only for the transition, not for security reasons. However, the generals in power have so far refused to release Mr. Bazoum or announce a timetable.

Still, some European countries say they are ready to move on with or without Mr. Bazoum. At meetings with Nigerian officials in Niamey last month, the German defense minister pledged to resume cooperation in 2024. Other countries such as Italy and Spain are also willing to work with the junta – moving away from France, which has become increasingly isolated in its hardline stance against the country’s military leaders.

But diplomats and analysts say Western efforts to strengthen governance in Niger for a decade have been put on indefinite hold for now, and many doubt the breach can be repaired. “The end of a love story,” said a European security official who spoke on condition of anonymity to speak candidly about developments in Niger.

But Ms. Bernard, the former State Department adviser, said the equation was slightly different for the United States because of U.S. Air Base 201.

“In the coastal countries they would have to start from scratch,” she said, pointing to recent reports that the United States is considering building new bases there, “while the Agadez base was the largest investment in U.S. military history.” I see not that we are moving away from it.”