Brussels, 18/05/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 15 May, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini asked “the parties which still have not signed the peace agreement to do so as quickly as possible and to remain committed to the dialogue”.
In Bamako on Friday, most of Mali's stakeholders signed the peace agreement negotiated under Algeria's aegis (see EUROPE 11275). The agreement was signed by the Malian government, three representatives from pro-government groups and two members of the Coordination of Azawad Movements (CAM). However, the three main rebel groups - the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), the High Council for the Unity of Azawad (HCUA) and the rebel branch of the Arab Movement of Azawad (MAA) - did not attend the signature of the agreement despite initialling it the previous day.
Mogherini described the initialling of the agreement in Algiers on 14 May as “very encouraging”. She added that “all the parties must respect the ceasefire and their commitments to work together for the entry into force of this agreement. For this reason, the reconciliation efforts must be carefully continued in order to strengthen national cohesion and trust”.
The agreement was supported by international mediation bringing together Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, the African Union, the UN, ECOWAS, the EU and France. (Mathieu Bion)