Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye stated that he had made every effort to reintegrate Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger into ECOWAS, but to no avail. The three countries left ECOWAS at the beginning of the year, accusing the bloc of being too aligned with France and failing to address jihadism. These nations have since formed the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), pivoting away from France and toward Russia.