The head of Niger's military regime General Abdourahamane Tchiani spoke on Tuesday by telephone to Russian President Vladimir Putin about "strengthening security cooperation", according to an official communique.
The two countries had already agreed in January to strengthen military ties when Niger Prime Minister Ali Lamine Zeine led a delegation to Moscow.
Niger, one of the world's poorest countries, had been a frontline partner of the West in battling insurgents in the Sahel, but has embraced Russia as a fledgling defence partner since the elected president was ousted last year .
The two heads of state "talked of the need for strengthening security cooperation... to face current threats," the Nigerien communique, read out on public radio, said.
'Strategic cooperation'
They also discussed "projects for multi-sector and global strategic cooperation," it added without further explanation.
General Tchiani, who has led Niger since the July coup, thanked Putin for Russia's "support" for the Sahel country and its struggle for national sovereignty.
A Russian delegation also visited Niger last December.
The United States still stations some 1,000 troops in Niger although movements have been limited since the coup, and Washington has curbed assistance to the government.
Denounced military ties with the West
A senior US delegation went to Niamey in mid-March to renew contact with the junta, but said they failed to meet Tchiani.
The new regime has denounced military cooperation with the West, shunning colonial ties with France.
Niger had previously been an important base for France's military efforts to quell violent extremism stemming from the Sahel region.
Niger joined neighbours Mali and Burkina Faso at the start of the month in announcing the creation of a joint force to battle the long-running insurgent attacks raging in the three nations.
They had announced in January their intention to withdraw from regional bloc the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
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