Rice says open to US ambassador for Sudan

By Saul Hudson

DAKAR, July 20 (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice held out the possibility of sending an ambassador to Sudan for the first time since 1997 in a sign of improving ties after a new government was installed this month.

“We are looking to the day when we can put (ambassadorial) representation there, because obviously things are moving pretty quickly in Sudan,” Rice told reporters en route to Senegal, where she arrived early on Wednesday for her first trip as secretary of state to the continent.

Leaders of a coalition peace government were sworn in on July 9. That marked a new era after two decades of north-south civil war and raised the prospect of better ties with Washington despite U.S. accusations Sudan has aided genocide and been a sponsor of terrorism.

The return of a U.S. ambassador would help show international acceptance of the Khartoum government, something which Sudan’s leaders covet, U.S. officials say.

Still, the top U.S. diplomat said such a move was dependant on the government resolving a conflict in the western region of Darfur and being removed from a U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism.

Violence has abated this year in Darfur, after tens of thousands of people died and about 2 million were driven from their homes following a rebel uprising in early 2003.

Washington last year accused President Omar Hassan al-Bashir’s government of helping militia commit genocide in Darfur.

The United States is hopeful a new vice president — former southern rebel John Garang, who has frequently visited Washington — will help improve ties between the two countries.

“In a sense it is a change in regime because this is now a national unity government,” said Rice, who will visit Khartoum and Darfur on Thursday.

But she added: “There is a terrorism list issue that still has to be addressed and of course we continue to have concerns about Darfur.”

HOST TO BIN LADEN

Ambassador Tim Carney left his post in 1997 after the United imposed sanctions on Sudan for what it said was its support for terrorism. A charge d’affaires is the top U.S. representative in the country.

Frosty U.S. ties with Khartoum, which hosted Osama bin Laden from 1991 to 1996, reached a low in 1998 when Washington launched missiles at a pharmaceuticals plant it said was linked to the al Qaeda leader and making ingredients for chemical weapons.

Rice’s top diplomat for Africa, Connie Newman, said a carrot-and-stick policy was needed for Sudan, which had responded last year to pressure over Darfur because it wanted to avoid being a pariah state.

Rice, who noted a threat of U.N. sanctions remained, said it was difficult to balance helping establish a new government while trying to hold Sudanese accountable for atrocities in Darfur.

“I’ll admit that it is not the easiest thing to manage,” she said.