Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf has embarked on a three-nation tour in West Africa for talks following a coup in its southern neighbour Niger with whom it shares a 1,000 kilometer border.
The military takeover on July 26 set off alarm bells among Niger's neighbours and throughout the West African region amid an insurgency in the Sahel that has killed thousands.
The Algerian minister will from Wednesday visit Nigeria, Benin and Ghana for consultations with his counterparts, according to a statement from the ministry.
"These consultations will focus on the crisis in Niger and ways to deal with it," it said.
West Africa's regional bloc, ECOWAS, has threatened military intervention if Niger's junta refuses to restore President Mohamed Bazoum to power, but said the measure will be a last resort if diplomacy failed.
Algeria rejects any military intervention to the crisis and earlier this week denied overflight permits to French planes seeking to conduct a military operation in Niger.
So far, Algeria has not communicated with the military leaders in Niger, nor has it taken any measures such as closing borders.
