Nouakchott - (dpa) - The Mauritanian opposition parties participating in the consultation process with the loyalists and the authority criticized the latter's decision to suspend the process indefinitely, describing it as a stab in the back of the preparatory committee for consultation, and said that the arguments put forward by the authority to justify this unilateral decision are baseless.

The parties said in a joint statement issued today, Friday, that they hold the authorities fully responsible for the collapse of the dialogue and the consequences that may result from that.

The dialogue sessions were scheduled to start later this June, after months of meetings of the preparation committee, which includes the opposition and loyal parties on an equal footing.

The consultation would have discussed topics including the democratic path, freedoms, fighting corruption, the electoral path, reforming justice, strengthening social cohesion and ending slavery and its remnants.

However, Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Cheikh Al-Ghazwani, who agreed to launch the consultation process, has always repeated that the country is living in an atmosphere of calm and political calm, and that it does not suffer from problems or crises that require political dialogue.