Sudan says US stance changed

KHARTOUM, Sudan, June 4, 2005 (UPI) — Sudanese President Omar Bashir said Saturday there was a “positive change” in the U.S. position on the troubled Darfur region.

Bashir said on state-owned Um Durman TV the U.S. “shift confirms substantial improvement in the Darfur situation.

Bashir’s comments came as U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick met with Sudan’s Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail in Khartoum on Darfur, the peace process in southern Sudan and bilateral relations.

Ismail told reporters that Zoellick told him there was “improvement of conditions in Darfur” after the American envoy visited the region Friday.

He said the two agreed for a Sudanese government delegation to visit Washington soon to discuss bilateral relations in more detail in order to restore relations between the two countries.