Sudan’s Ghandour says agreed with US officials to resume discussions on bilateral relations
February 16, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – Sudanese presidential assistant said he agreed with US officials to resume dialogue on bilateral relations, adding he met with officials at the State Department and the White House.
“We agreed to continue the dialogue which may resume soon, either in Khartoum or Washington,” Ghandour told reporters after the meeting with president Bashir.
He further said that Bashir instructed to continue dialogue with the US administration in order to preserve Sudan’s interests and its desire to have normal relations with whole international community.
In December 2013, president Bashir directed to stop discussions on US sanctions and normalisation of relations saying US policy towards Sudan is dictated by activists and pressures groups.
He also said the normalisation of relations should not be connected to Sudan’s internal issues, alluding to demands by Washington to settle conflicts in Darfur and the Two Areas.
In a short statement on 11 February, the State Department said that discussions with Ghandour “included ways to advance a more frequent and substantive exchange about our respective interests and concerns in the region, including ways to achieve a sustainable peace in Sudan”.
The Sudanese presidential assistant said he met with officials at the State Department and an aide of president Barak Obama at the White House but he did not identify them.
Ghandour further said the US administration showed a particular interest to what they consider issues related to the national security of their country, adding they discussed some regional files.
He also said that talks with the UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon in New York discussed the situation in the Two Areas and Darfur and the Sudanese government demand to terminate the mission of the hybrid operation, UNAMID.
(ST)
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