January 6, 2011 -- Updated 1558 GMT (2358 HKT)
Abidjan, Ivory Coast (CNN) -- Ivory Coast's President-elect Alassane Ouattara is "confident" that military action to remove self-declared President Laurent Gbagbo is on its way, he told CNN Thursday.
Ouattara said he expects the regional group the Economic Community of West African States to intervene in the situation. But he doesn't think such military intervention will lead to civil war, he added.
The cocoa-producing West African nation was plunged into crisis after Ouattara was declared the winner of the November presidential runoff election, but Gbagbo, the incumbent, refused to leave office.
Ouattara told CNN Thursday that he welcomes a proposal for face-to-face negotiations with Gbagbo -- on the condition that Gbagbo recognizes Ouattara as president.
Ouattara also denied claims from the Gbagbo camp that there are 300 rebel troops with him. He concedes that he has some military with him, but says they are his security guards from when he was prime minister, and that the contingent is smaller than 300.
Ouattara remains holed up in a posh waterfront hotel under the protection of United Nations peacekeepers. Gbagbo had previously promised to remove a military blockade he placed around the Golf Hotel, but those troops are still there.
The United Nations said Wednesday it would ask the Security Council to approve up to 2,000 more troops to help ensure the presidency for Ouattara.
Alain Le Roy, the under-secretary-general for U.N. peacekeeping, said after a Security Council briefing that he was worried "we are facing more difficulties" in Ivory Coast.
As the political standoff continued, the top U.S. diplomat on Africa said Gbagbo had "stolen" the vote that removed him from office.
"There is no question but that the election in the Ivory Coast was stolen by President Gbagbo and those around him," Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson told reporters Wednesday.
Ouattara is not willing to negotiate unless Gbagbo accepts that he's president.
Gbagbo's "continued presence in office amounts to a theft of the election," Carson said.
The United States and other countries have offered Gbagbo what they call a "dignified exit," which could mean living and working in other countries, including the United States.
Gbagbo, however, has ignored those offers and has refused to accept telephone calls from U.S. officials.
Carson said Gbagbo has challenged democracy not only in Ivory Coast but also in the entire region.
Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga, the African Union envoy for the mediation effort, said Gbagbo was open to a meeting with the president-elect.
"He (Gbagbo) does not want any conditions," Odinga said. "He wants amnesty, he wants to know he's safe if he chooses to stay. These are things that have to be discussed face-to-face.
"But Ouattara is not willing to negotiate unless Gbagbo accepts that he's president," Odinga said. "Ouattara is being difficult."
Ouattara has said he will ensure protection for Gbagbo if he concedes, Odinga said.
Violence following Gbagbo's refusal to vacate office has left more than 170 people dead in Ivory Coast and disrupted life for residents in Abidjan, the country's commercial hub.
West African states will oust Gbagbo using military force if the standoff continues, Odinga said.
"We made it very clear that the stand of the African Union and ECOWAS is that Ouattara is the legitimate president," he said. "And in the absence of a peaceful settlement, military action will be pursued."
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