Malians outraged by sanctions: Military junta negotiates …

Despite showing this strength, the conversation was not broken. The military junta will continue to talk to sub-regional institutions and sub-regional countries to restore constitutional order in Mali.
During a rally in Bamako, Col. Abdulla Mika, Mali’s regional administration minister and government spokesman, confirmed that his government was open to dialogue with ECOWAS. A Malian cabinet is expected to be in Algiers later in Nouakchott. We instruct the ambassadors of Colonel Azimi Koita to establish a timeline of actions to be taken during the rest of the transition, not just to organize this year’s general election. The idea will be shared by two sub-regional agencies responsible for the sanctions imposed against Mali.
The crisis in Mali is also being weighed against the meetings of EU (EU) foreign ministers in Brest on Thursday 13 and Friday 14 January. Twenty-seven countries share the same observation, according to Joseph Borel, head of European diplomacy: “The situation is not going in the right direction and the military junta is not giving a positive signal, on the contrary.”
The Ministers further agreed on the following points: “We once again salute the United Front (Economic Community of West African States) for its work with full support and ECOWAS. We are preparing to impose sanctions on those who obstruct change. We maintain our operations and our training and consulting missions for the Malian Armed Forces and the Homeland Security Forces. We maintain a suspension of budget support.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said the next G5 Sahel would soon convene a meeting of the International Coalition, adding that there was a contradiction in the protests on Friday: “Extend the cause change, for security reasons. I think.”
And if the Europeans had confirmed their desire to maintain a presence in Mali, it would have been “for nothing else” in the context of the fight against terrorism, insisted J. Y. Le Trian. To discuss the situation in Mali, Joseph Borel will soon hold a meeting with the ministers of the G5 Sahel countries.