Obasanjo receives Sudanese parties in Darfur talks
Mar 26, 2006 (ABJUA) — Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, yesterday Saturday 26 March, received separately, the Heads of delegation of the Sudanese parties – the Government of the Sudan (GoS), the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).
The meetings were also attended by the Head of the AU Mediation Team, Sam B. Ibok, accompanied by Boubou Niang, Political Adviser to Chief Mediator Salim Ahmed Salim, and acting coordinator of the Wealth Sharing Commission., said the AMIS spokesperson Noureddine Mezni.
Obasanjo and the Sudanese parties exchanged views on the outstanding issues in the three negotiation frameworks (the Wealth Sharing, power Sharing and Security Arrangements Commissions), and the ways and means to overcome the difficulties encountered.
The president underscored his continued commitment to assist the Sudanese parties to reach a Comprehensive Peace Agreement, so as to bring the suffering of the people of Darfur to an immediate end.
He urged the parties to demonstrate an even greater spirit of give and take, especially as the talks have entered a final and critical stage, adding that there was no other viable option for achieving peace in Darfur, than a negotiated political settlement.
US President George W. Bush will receive Nigerian President Obasanjo for talks to include peacekeeping efforts in Sudan’s troubled Darfur region, the White House said.
Bush will thank Obasanjo on March 29 “for his leadership as chairman of the African Union in the deployment of African troops in response to the genocide in Darfur,” Bush spokesman Scott McClellan said in a statement.
(ST)