The former Algerian foreign minister Ramtane Lamamra, got lost in the delicate negotiations over a peace deal for Mali known by its initials APR. The "date man", as he is known to Tuareg leaders due his propensity to praise the Deglet Nour, an Algerian variety of the fruit, has failed to maintain the illusion of peace through the APR signed in Algiers in 2015 under his leadership.

When Lamamra visited Bamako in January as President Abdelmadjid Tebboune's special envoy, he was quickly put in his place