US President, NATO Secretary General discuss Darfur

Feb 17, 2006 (WASHINGTON) — US President George W. Bush and NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer discussed ways to respond to the worsening situation in Sudan’s Darfur region, the White House said.

The president telephoned de Hoop Scheffer “to share his concerns about the deteriorating situation in Darfur,” spokesman Trent Duffy said as Bush traveled to Florida for a speech on terrorism and a political fundraiser.

“They discussed the steps NATO has already taken to assist in stopping the violence and what additional actions NATO might take in the future,” said the spokesman.

The conversation took place one day after US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice repeated the charge that “genocide” was taking place in Darfur, but moves to bolster security with a UN force were held up pending a request from the African Union.

Rice said she was “very concerned” about the situation in Darfur, where up to 300,000 people have died in three years of fighting pitting government forces and their militia allies against local rebels.

“On Darfur, our policy is unchanged. It is our view that genocide was committed and in fact continues in Darfur,” Rice said in testimony before the House International Relations Committee.

US officials have pressed for moves to bolster the beleaguered and financially-strapped 7,000-strong African Union force in Darfur by making it the core of a more-robust UN peacekeeping mission.

Washington had set a goal of using its presidency of the UN Security Council this month to push through a resolution setting out the size and terms of a UN force for Darfur.

(ST/AFP)