European Foreign Ministers, meeting in Lisbon on Thursday 27 May, expressed their concern about the situation in Mali following the coup by Colonel Assimi Goïta and the forced resignation of the President of the Transition, Bah N’Daw, and his Prime Minister, Moctar Ouane (see EUROPE 12726/7).
“We all agreed that the peaceful transition that had been started should be respected. We are very concerned about the coup. This is a coup within a coup, which represents a danger for the population”, said the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell.
Recalling that, during his recent mission to Mali, he had expressed the hope of something other than a transition between two coups, he expressed his disappointment that “the positive dynamic that had begun” had been put in check.
However, in response to the press, he assured that the EU would continue its training mission for the Malian military. He also welcomed the release of Bah N’Daw and Moctar Ouane. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)