from datetime import datetime


def meso_api_dates(start_date, end_date):
    """
    Return string-formatted start and end dates for the MesoPy api.
    """
    start = str(datetime.strftime(start_date, '%Y%m%d%H%M'))
    end = str(datetime.strftime(end_date, '%Y%m%d%H%M'))
    return start, end