Sudan shows appreciation to Slovene initiative on Darfur

Feb 8, 2006 (LJUBLJANA) — Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir thanked his Slovene counterpart Janez Drnovsek for his recent initiative to improve the humanitarian situation in Darfur, calling Drnovsek’s move a friendly gesture stemming from a sincere and heartfelt desire to help in finding a lasting solution for the region, Drnovsek’s office said on Wednesday.

According to the Slovene STA, Al-Bashir agreed with Drnovsek that the time has come to solve the Darfur crisis as well as expressed his readiness to cooperate with his Slovene counterpart in drafting a solution to bring lasting peace and stability to the western Sudanese region.

Al-Bashir responded to Drnovsek’s early February letter in which the Slovene president outlined his 10-point umbrella peace plan for Darfur.

The plan includes a political solution that is similar to the one used to resolve the crisis in southern Sudan last year.

In the letter Drnovsek also invited al-Bashir to visit Slovenia to finalize the terms of peace talks. He issued the same invitation to rebel leaders.

Drnovsek held talks last month with different leaders in Europe, US and the UN to explain his initiative and to demand international community involvement in the implementation of his peace plan.

(ST)