UNITED NATIONS — Behind the controversy over the clients of Washington superlawyer Lanny Davis lies a desperate effort to avoid what threatens to become Africa’s next genocide.

The drama centers on the search for a face-saving exit for the president of the Ivory Coast, Laurent Gbagbo, who, against the backdrop of a civil war, was defeated in the national election in the fall. Though the results are in dispute, the winner is generally acknowledged to have been Alassane Ouattara

President Obama has tried at least twice to telephone the Ivorian strongman, according to a knowledgeable Washington source. One idea was to allow Mr. Gbagbo to come to America, where he would be granted an academic post. But Mr. Gbagbo, or some of his aides, decided to make themselves unavailable to the world’s most powerful leader.

By contrast, Mr. Gbagbo met leaders from three neighboring countries Wednesday, and is scheduled to meet with them again next Monday. The regional diplomacy, led by President Jonathan of Nigeria, caps a world-wide effort to lure — or push — Mr. Gbagbo out of the presidential palace in Abijan and allow Mr. Ouattara, who was declared by the United Nations and regional organizations a winner of an October ballot, to become the Ivorian leader.

Some leaders in the Economic Community of Western African States have threatened military action to force Mr. Gbagbo out, but they are widely perceived as lacking the troops to fight the Ivorian army, which largely remains loyal to the sitting president. Meanwhile, although Ecowas diplomacy is yet to show any tangible progress, at least its representatives, unlike Mr. Obama, got a hearing from Mr. Gbagbo.

Mr. Gbagbo’s refusal to take Mr. Obama’s phone call led to the resignation of one of the highest profile Washington lobbyists, Lanny Davis, a former aide to President Clinton who had become a paid adviser to the Ivorian only 10 days earlier. “Unfortunately, as you know, the decision was made in Abijan not to allow President Obama’s call to be put through to Mr. Gbagbo, despite my repeated objections to that decision. Nor have I been able to reach Mr. Gbagbo directly myself to offer him this advice, despite repeated requests, as recently as the last twenty-four hours,” Mr. Davis wrote in a resignation letter Wednesday evening.

A source close to Mr. Davis stresses that the Washington lawyer’s ties with Mr. Gbagbo were never authorized by the State Department or other branches of the American government. Since Mr. Gbagbo has attained his services earlier this month, Mr. Davis has repeatedly said he has no way of determining the winner of the October presidential election.

Meanwhile, although Mr. Outtara was declared by the United Nations and the African Union a winner, Mr. Gbagbo repeatedly pointed to documented polling abuse in the northern regions of the country, where Mr. Outtara has his largest support. U.N. officials say that even if so, the discredited ballots would not make any significant difference in the final outcome.

Nevertheless, some diplomats say Mr. Gbagbo’s supporters in the army and the large percentage of southerner Ivorians who have voted for him are bound to remain embittered if their contention of election fraud in the north is not addressed. Therefore, they say, even if Mr. Gbagbo accepts offers to leave, the country may revert back to civil war.

“We are on the brink of genocide, something should be done,” the newly-minted Ivorian ambassador here, Youssoufou Bamba, told reporters Wednesday. Earlier in the week, the General Assembly determined that Mr. Bamba, who represents Mr. Ouatarra, must take the Ivory Coast U.N. seat, and that his delegation immediately replace Mr. Gbagbo’s.

A U.N. contingent in the Ivory Coast is the only force protecting the Abuja hotel where Mr. Ouatarra has been staying since the election. Mr. Gbagbo has threatened to forcefully evict Mr. Ouattara. The head of U.N. peacekeeping forces, Alain Le Roy, told reporters recently that Mr. Gbagbo has hired “mercenaries” from neighboring countries as part of campaign of “inciting hatred” against the U.N.

Meanwhile Mr. Jonathan briefed Secretary General Ban on his diplomatic efforts in a phone call Wednesday. There was no word of a similar call between Turtle Bay and the White House.