President Mbeki's spokesperson Murphy Morobe said there was no truth to reports that appeared in some newspapers, apparently sourced from French news agencies that the two multilateral bodies had asked the South African president to step down as mediator.
Morobe said it's "quite clear" that there are forces that are "bent on seeking" to destabilise the region.
"It is indeed unfortunate that sections of the French media have lent themselves to such a misinformation campaign," he said.
"Suggestions carried in a morning newspaper quoting Le Monde about a meeting allegedly 'presided over by AU chairperson and Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo' are nothing but fabrications," said Morobe.
Defence Minister Mosioua Lekota last week told the media that no such request from AU and UN was received saying the only such request was from the rebel group New Forces.
"New Forces issued a statement saying they no longer have to do with the mediation," he said.
But Lekota said the "New Forces sent the letter to the wrong people" because they should have sent it to AU chairperson Olusegun Obasanjo, as he is the one that mandated President Mbeki to mediate in the Ivory Coast peace process. Morobe explained that the communiqu
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