20110118
reuters

ABIDJAN (Reuters) - The African Union's mediator for Ivory Coast will cut short a trip to the country, his spokesman said on Tuesday, after failing to make a breakthrough in efforts to resolve the country's power struggle.

Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga arrived for talks on Monday and had been initially expected to stay for some days as part of efforts to convince incumbent Laurent Gbagbo to step aside after an election his rival Alassane Ouattara is widely recognised to have won.

"No, he's not given up on this process," Odinga's spokesman Salim Lone told Reuters by telephone. "He's leaving tomorrow morning, then going to Ghana, Burkina Faso and South Africa to push for the AU leaders to respect the AU position (that Gbagbo must step down)".

Lone, who earlier said Odinga believed he was making progress, did not give a reason for the curtailed visit.