20110128 reuters
ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - African leaders must insist Ivory Coast's rivals for the presidency hold face-to-face talks to resolve the post-election crisis, the African Union mediator said on Friday.
"This summit must send a strong and unequivocal message that the two parties must negotiate face-to-face," Raila Odinga said ahead of a weekend summit of AU leaders in Ethiopia.
The world's top cocoa grower has been paralysed by a power struggle stand-off following a November election. U.N.-certified results showed that opposition candidate Alassane Ouattara won but they were overturned by a top legal body and incumbent Laurent Gbagbo has resisted calls to step down.
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