Robert Dussey, the foreign minister of Togo, met with representatives of Ivory Coast on Tuesday in Abidjan to discuss the case of 49 Ivorian troops who were detained in Mali earlier this month.
This comes 48 hours after the Mali Junta leader requested Togo to lead a mission between the two nations to assist resolve the problem
According to a statement, Dussey stated on Tuesday that the leaders of the Malian junta and the president of Ivory Coast both desired to maintain peace between their countries.
The statement also said that President Alassane Ouattara thanked the minister for taking the initiative to find a solution to the problem.
Upon arriving in Bamako, the soldiers were detained on the grounds that they might be mercenaries.
According to a bilateral agreement, Ivory Coast says the troops were stationed there to help the UN mission known as MINUSMA.
The Mali junta, however, claims that the deployment was not communicated to the foreign ministry through the proper channels. Ivory Coast has demanded that its soldiers be released right away.
The Junta, led by Col. Assimi Goita, on Tuesday, said it had commenced dialogue to fix the problem.
Goita said in order to maintain good ties between Mali and the Ivory Coast, he was ready to cooperate to settle the conflict.
