Cote d'Ivoire appeals for peace in Burkina Faso

Cote d'Ivoire President Alassane Ouattara over the weekend appealed for peace in Burkina Faso, a neighbouring country going through a political crisis following last week's coup.

"We want peace in Burkina Faso. We appeal for peaceful, transparent and democratic elections in this friendly country," the Cote d'Ivoire president said on Saturday during a press conference in Abidjan.

"We have always had the same position that everything should be done to ensure these elections are peaceful and our position has not changed," he said, insisting that Burkina Faso's elections should be held this year to end the transition.

Cote d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso are two countries that have "historic ties."

Deposed through a popular uprising in October last year, Burkina Faso's ex-President Blaise Compaore fled into exile in Cote d'Ivoire.

Burkina Faso soldiers, led by a former army boss during Compaore's regime, Gen. Gilbert Diendere, seized power on Wednesday last week, ending the political transition, with less than a month before the presidential and legislative elections. Endit