Minister: Important Steps Made in Mali Talks The foreign affairs minister of Burkina Faso says important steps have been made after three days of talks with an extremist group whose members control parts of northern Mali. Djibril Bassole told reporters late Monday that negotiators had made progress but that Ansar Dine representatives now want to speak with their own leader. The Ansar Dine delegation is due to meet with Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore, mediator for the West African regional bloc threatening a military intervention to retake northern Mali. Bassole previously said that mediators would be asking Ansar Dine to cut ties with terrorist groups such as al-Qaida and other groups operating in northern Mali. Islamists seized control of northern Mali after a military coup in March.