Togo begins mediation on detained Ivorian soldiers
Ivory Coast has been calling for the immediate release of its soldiers.
Togolese Foreign Minister Robert Dussey met Ivorian officials in Abidjan on Tuesday for talks on 49 Ivorian soldiers who were arrested in Mali earlier this month.
The soldiers were arrested on arrival in Bamako on suspicion of being mercenaries. Ivory Coast insists the troops were there to support the UN mission, known as Minusma, under an agreed contract between the two countries.
But the junta in Mali says its foreign ministry was not informed of the deployment via the official channels. On Tuesday, Mr. Dussey indicated that the Ivorian president and the Malian junta leaders wanted to preserve peace between their nations, according to a statement.
President Alassane Ouattara expressed his gratitude to the minister for the initiative to find a resolution to the matter, the statement added.
Ivory Coast has been calling for the immediate release of its soldiers.
