The political consultations were held between the Georgian and Cypriot Foreign Ministries in Batumi on Monday.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Monday called for the results of Mali’s upcoming election to be respected even if the vote is “imperfect”, amid scepticism about the country’s ability to stage the poll.

Mark Gray, a spokesman for the European Commission, has stated that the upcoming oral Cooperation and Verification Mechanism report on Bulgaria will be factual and will not contain political assessments.