The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has cancelled its summit on the political situation in Burkina Faso which was scheduled for 13 and 14 October in Dakar, Senegal.
By Abdou Cissé
Regional leaders were due to meet on October 13 and 14 for an extraordinary summit on security but also to discuss the situation in Burkina Faso.
“There will be no summit,” confirmed Ghanaian Ambassador Abdel Fatau Musah, ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, on Thursday, on the sidelines of a press luncheon ahead of the 8th International Summit on Peace and Security to be held on October 24 and 25 in Dakar, Senegal.
“There was an extraordinary summit of ECOWAS on the situation in Burkina following the second coup. In the meantime, we all followed the declaration of Captain Traoré (Ibrahim) who agreed to implement the ECOWAS agenda. So, from that moment on, there was no reason to meet” explained the Senegalese Minister of Foreign Affairs Aissata Tall Sall.
“It was not appropriate for the heads of state to meet in Dakar to discuss an issue that had already been settled” she added.
Ex Nigerien president Mahamadou Issoufou said he was satisfied with the talks he had on Tuesday October 4 with Captain Ibrahim Traore, the leader of the coup that toppled Lieutenant Colonel Paul Henri Sandaogo five days earlier.
Forced to resign, the former president of the transition had set seven conditions including respect for commitments made with ECOWAS, namely a transition of 24 months.
Aissata Tall Sall said the regional grouping would meet in an ordinary session in December to assess “the progress made by Burkina Faso, but will also examine the situation in Mali and Guinea.”
AC/lb/as/APA