Mali Junta Says it Supports Return to Constitutional Order

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Representatives from the junta that seized power in Mali said Saturday that the putschists agree with West African leaders on the need to swiftly restore constitutional order.

"On the main principles that they asked of us, we say that we agree. There should be a regular and normal constitutional life, and now we are going to discuss the way to establish this," said junta chief of staff Colonel Moussa Sinko Coulibaly after meeting Burkina Faso's President Blaise Compaore.

The Burkinabe leader was appointed as the Mali crisis mediator by the Economic Community of West African (ECOWAS), which has put 2,000 troops on standby should the situation in its member-state deteriorate further.

Tuareg rebels in the north are pursuing their relentless offensive against an army in partial disarray after the coup.

Compaore met with three members of the junta for nearly two hours on Saturday.

"We had a fruitful and constructive exchange with the authorities. The president (Compaore) has assured us as to his willingness to move towards a constructive solution that allows a return to constitutional order quite quickly," Coulibaly said.

"We leave here confident and we hope in a fairly short time to reach a consensus that will allow for the re-installation of state institutions in a way that is acceptable for everyone," he added.

He further stressed that the junta is "is not there to confiscate power".

Burkina Faso's Foreign Minister Djibrill Bassole told Agence France Presse that he would head immediately to Bamako to meet with the coup leader, Captain Amadou Sanogo.

ECOWAS on Thursday threatened to hit Mali with "a diplomatic and financial embargo", if constitutional order was not restored by Monday "at the latest".

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