Ivory Coast’s political rivals Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara have agreed on a face-fo-face meeting to try to resolve the country’s political crisis, African Union envoy Raila Odinga said Tuesday.
"We have broken the ice. They (Gbagbo and Quattara) have agreed to meet face to face but under certain conditions," Odinga, Kenya's Prime Minister, told AFP by telephone from Abuja.
Odinga spoke shortly before African mediators were to debrief Goodluck Jonathan, Nigeria's president and current leader of regional bloc ECOWAS, on their mission to the Ivory Coast the day before.
Odinga was part of a four-member African delegation that held talks with the rival leaders in Abidjan on Monday.
"We had useful discussions with the parties in Ivory Coast. It was a useful beginning. More efforts have to be made to achieve peace in Ivory Coast," Odinga said.