NIGERIA: ECOWAS envoys brief media after reporting back to Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan following another round of mediation talks in Ivory Coast

Record ID: 181720

  • Title: NIGERIA: ECOWAS envoys brief media after reporting back to Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan following another round of mediation talks in Ivory Coast
  • Date: 5th January 2011
  • Summary: ABUJA, NIGERIA (JANUARY 4, 2011) (REUTERS) ECOWAS ENVOY GIVING SPEECH IN FRENCH ECOWAS ENVOYS VARIOUS OF AUDIENCE ECOWAS ENVOY SPEAKING JOURNALISTS MILITARY GUARDS (SOUNDBITE) (English) PRESIDENT OF THE ECOWAS COMMISSION, JAMES VICTOR GBEHO, SAYING "ECOWAS and AU are telling you now that even if there is a half percent chance of resolving the problem peacefully, they would exploit it and the initial contacts with President Gbagbo and President Ouattara indicating some promise of getting them to agree on certain essential element in order to obviate the first option. That is what the mission is engaged in now, but it is without doubt that ECOWAS position is that if there is no joy in exploiting the peaceful situation, then the military objective can also be considered as a tool for a sustainable resolution of the crisis in Cote d'Ivoire. That is the position now." VARIOUS OF AUDIENCE ECOWAS ENVOY
  • Embargoed: 20th January 2011 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Nigeria, Nigeria
  • Country: Nigeria
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVA365B6RIW9ZS1YZ9V1N7PMM7R8
  • Story Text: Ivory Coast's Laurent Gbagbo has agreed to further talks over a bitter election dispute and has promised to lift a blockade around the temporary headquarters of rival Alassane Ouattara, regional bloc ECOWAS (Economic Community Of West African States) said on Tuesday (January 4).
    ECOWAS envoys met Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan early on Tuesday to brief him on the recent talks in Abidjan, then held a briefing for journalists, where they released a communique on developments in Ivory Coast.
    The communique said that incumbent Ivorian leader Laurent Gbagbo had agreed to negotiate a peaceful end to the current crisis gripping the country.
    It said Ouattara, who has been widely recognised as the winner of the November 28 election, had "indicated his willingness to ensure a dignified exit" for Gbagbo, provided he accepted that he had lost the polls.
    President of the ECOWAS Commision, James Victor Gbeho, however, made it clear that if Gabgo failed to live up to his promises, then the military option remained open.
    "ECOWAS and AU are telling you now that even if there is a half percent chance of resolving the problem peacefully, they would exploit it and the initial contacts with President Gbagbo and President Ouattara indicating some promise of getting them to agree on certain essential element in order to obviate the first option. That is what the mission is engaged in now, but it is without doubt that ECOWAS position is that if there is no joy in exploiting the peaceful situation, then the military objective can also be considered as a tool for a sustainable resolution of the crisis in Cote d' Ivoire. That is the position now," Gbeho said.
    Ivory Coast has been in crisis ever since Gbagbo refused to accept the results of a UN-validated election that was supposed to heal the wounds of a 2002-03 civil war.
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