Sudan to hold joint talks on Darfur with French and British officials

April 17, 2009 (KHARTOUM) — Senior Sudanese officials will hold talks with French and British officials in Paris next week to discuss the Darfur crisis and the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant for President Omer Al-Bashir.

Sudan seeks to persuade France, United Kingdom and the United States to not veto any future African and Arab demand to the United Nations Security Council to suspend the ICC jurisdiction on Darfur war crimes.

A Sudanese delegation led by Presidential Assistant Nafi Ali Nafi will discuss the Darfur conflict and the ICC arrest warrant in a joint meeting with French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner and British Foreign Office Minister for Africa Lord Malloch Brown next week.

Speaking to the official SUNA, Ambassador Abdel Bassit Al-Sanossi, the director of the bilateral relations department at the foreign ministry added that the delegation will also tackle the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.

The visiting delegation which includes also the head of the security and intelligence services Salah Gosh is expected in Paris on Tuesday April 21.

France and Britain support the ICC and asked the Sudanese government to cooperate with it. They also say they could not undermine the independence of the war crimes court. However they repeatedly said Khartoum should undertake serious steps to end the conflict in Darfur and not impede the humanitarian action there.

On March 4th the judges of the Pre-Trial Chamber I at the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Bashir on seven counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, which include murder, rape and torture.

Within two months the ICC prosecutor will present a report to the UN Security Council to inform it about their activities on Darfur war crimes in accordance with Resolution 1593 that referred the case to the ICC in March 2005.

The prosecutor is expected to ask the 15 member Council to shoulder its responsibilities and take the necessary measure to ensure Bashir’s arrest.

In his interview today, Al-Sanossi pointed out that there would be also separate talks with French and British officials.

The troubled relations between Sudan and Chad are expected also to be on the agenda of talks between Khartoum and Paris. The Chadian President Idris Deby reportedly deployed troops along the border and accused Sudan of supporting rebels.

Sudan also said Deby is rearming Darfur rebels and refused to establish a joint force to monitor the border as provided in Dakar agreement.

(ST)