Guinean President, Opposition Will Hold Talks to Ease Tensions

(Bloomberg) -- Guinean President Alpha Conde and opposition leader Cellou Dalein Diallo will meet Thursday as part of efforts to calm rising political tensions in the West African nation, the presidency said.

“The president remains convinced that only dialogue will allow us to find solutions to current problems and to maintain peace,” Conde’s office said in an e-mailed statement Wednesday.

Diallo, leader of the Union of Democratic Forces party, took part in an Aug. 16 anti-Conde protest called by a coalition of opposition parties known as the Opposition Republicaine. The president won a second term in office last October after beating Diallo in a vote, the result of which was disputed by the opposition.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ougna Camara in Conakry at ocamara@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Andre Janse van Vuuren at ajansevanvuu@bloomberg.net, Eric Ombok, Paul Richardson