PARIS (Reuters) – Ivory Coast presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara promised rival Laurent Gbagbo an amnesty if the latter steps down quickly, according to an interview published in a French newspaper on Friday.
The comment shed further light after remarks on Thursday in which Ouattara, recognized internationally as winner of a November 28 election, said that Gbagbo had blood on his hands and had to go but that he would guarantee him safety.
In the interview in Le Figaro newspaper, Ouattara was quoted as having said: "For me, peace has no price. That's why I am willing to declare an amnesty for Gbagbo, as happened in the past for Benin President (Mathieu) Kerekou."
Ouattara said he would be willing to grant Gbagbo the status of a former head of state.
"But he has to accept rapidly, because he's a person with blood on his hands," Ouattara added.
The U.S. Treasury Department stepped up outside pressure on Gbagbo on Thursday when it barred U.S. citizens from financial dealings with a man who has ruled for more than a decade and whose standoff with Ouattara has raised fears of renewed civil war in the former French colony.
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