judicial investigation recommended that three French ministers – Michel Barnier, Dominique de Villepin and Michèle Alliot-Marie – be referred for prosecution for allegedly having obstructed an investigation into the initial Ivorian air raid. In 2021, a Paris court issued life sentences to two Ivorian officers and one Belarusian mercenary, who in absentia had been found guilty of carrying out the air raid. Revived peace talks The UN Security Council passed Resolution 1572 on 15 November, imposing an immediate arms embargo on Ivory Coast, though the effectiveness of the embargo is debatable. It also authorised targeted sanctions on Ivorian spoilers, and threatened to impose such sanctions if the belligerents did not return to peace negotiations timeously. Pretoria talks: April–June 2005 On 3 to 6 April 2005, South African President Thabo Mbeki chaired peace talks in Pretoria, South Africa, arranged under African Union (AU) auspices with the intention of reviving the peace process. The resulting Pretoria Agreement, intended as a supplement to the Linas-Marcoussis Accord, established a cessation of hostilities and ended the state of war. Mbeki had been involved in the Accra III talks, and, by acknowledging Gbagbo's concerns about Ivorian sovereignty, was able to nudge Gbagbo to a deal on sensitive electoral issues – notably the eligibility in elections of all peace talk participants, including Ouattara; and international supervision of the next Ivorian elections. In June, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 1603, calling on the UN Secretary-General to prepare to fulfil that supervisory role. Gbagbo also agreed to increase opposition representation on the Independent Electoral Commission and to disband pro-government militias. The New Forces and opposition parties mistrusted Mbeki, viewing him as a biased mediator, but did agree once again to disarm and to rejoin the reconciliation government. Rebel forces started to withdraw heavy weapons from the front line on 21 April, re-establishing the buffer zone, and the parties met in Pretoria again in June 2005 to review and reaffirm the agreement. Further delays: 2005–2006 Nonetheless, and possibly due to intentional delays by Gbagbo, election preparations were slow, even as the end of Gbagbo's five-year presidential term – 30 October 2005, according to the constitution – approached. In early September, both the New Forces and the opposition parties said that elections held on 30 October as planned would not be free and fair. In early October, the AU's Peace and Security Council conceded that Gbagbo could remain in office