The signing of an agreement to end the crisis in Mali is likely delayed due to the absence of the rival parties to talks in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, according to officials close to the negotiations.

On Monday, Burkina Faso's President Blaise Compaore, the mediator in the Malian crisis, together with the special representative of the UN secretary general, the African Union envoy and the special representative of the European Union, met with Mali's governmental delegation and the joint commission of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) as well as the Azawad Supreme Council (HCA).

The mediator gave the different Malian parties a document developed by themselves, which took into account the concerns of each party.

Speaking to the press on Monday evening after the meeting, Burkina Faso's Foreign Minister Djibril Bassole said that "following the request by the two parties, the mediator has given them a few hours to go and consult their bases and superiors."

It is in this regard that the head of Mali's government team, Tiebile Drame, the special adviser to the Malian president, in charge of negotiations with the armed groups, is absent in Burkina Faso.

He is still in the Malian capital Bamako briefing Mali's interim President Dioncounda Traore and Prime Minister Diango Cissoko on the development of talks.

A source close to the Burkina Faso Presidency, said the delegations of the joint commission of MNLA/HCA, after having consulted their bases in Mali's northern town of Kidal, returned to Ouagadougou on Tuesday afternoon.

Given the prevailing circumstances, observers have questioned the possibility of Bamako signing an agreement with the armed groups.

The signing seems unlikely as the mediator in the crisis, President Compaore, is expected to leave for a 48-hour foreign trip.

Another source said the Malian government had also introduced another amendment to the proposed agreement, something that will require further discussions.

Observers believe it is impossible for the agreement between the protagonists in the Malian crisis to be signed in Ouagadougou within the set time-lines.