Abidjan, Ivory Coast (CNN) -- African regional authorities are prepared to remove from office self-proclaimed President Laurent Gbagbo, who election observers say lost last November's presidential runoff but has refused to step down, Ivory Coast's President-elect Alassane Ouattara said Thursday. "I think it's clear that Mr. Laurent Gbagbo does not want to leave office," Ouattara told CNN, noting that representatives of the Economic Community of West African States and the African Union had tried to persuade him to leave earlier this week. "If he decides to leave, fine. If he decides not to leave, I think ECOWAS, our subregional union, will take the appropriate steps to remove him -- either through specific measures which the military people are working on, or a military force, which will be put into place.
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NEW: "He will be removed; this shouldn't be a difficult operation," says Ouattara
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The U.S. Treasury freezes Laurent Gbagbo's assets
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Alassane Ouattara says he will negotiate with his rival if Gbagbo concedes Ouattara is president
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Ouattara is "confident" that West African nations will intervene
Ouattara told CNN Thursday that he welcomes a proposal for direct negotiations with Gbagbo -- on the condition that @placeholder recognize Ouattara as president.