Twelve Burkinabe diplomats and consular officials have returned to Burkina Faso following the closure of the country’s embassy and consulate general in Paris after Ouagadougou severed diplomatic relations with France on June 26. The officials were received in Ouagadougou by Foreign Minister Karamoko Jean Marie Traoré, where former chargé d’affaires Jean Marie Bakouan handed over the national flag and keys to the embassy premises, marking the formal closure of the diplomatic mission.
The returning diplomats rejected rumours that they had sought asylum in France, saying their return was carried out with dignity and in line with a sovereign government decision. They said arrangements had been made to notify international organizations and other countries under the Paris diplomatic jurisdiction, while measures were also put in place with the High Council of Burkinabe Abroad to continue handling consular services, including passport procedures for citizens living in France.
