Sudan says ready for dialogues with US on disputed issues

Oct 14, 2006 (KHARTOUM) — The Sudanese government expressed welcome to American envoy Andrew Natsios’ arrival, affirming that doors remain open for dialogues with Washington on disputed issues, Sudan’s local daily al-Hayat reported on Saturday.

Spokesman of the Sudanese Foreign Ministry Ali Sadig was quoted as saying that the arrival of the U.S. envoy in Khartoum was “a good gesture” of the United States.

“Natsios’ visit is a chance to kick start a direct dialogue between the U.S. administration and Sudan”, Abdul-Basit al-Sanousi, the head of the U.S. affairs department at Sudan’s foreign Ministry, said in a statement after the arrival of the envoy.

Upon arriving in Sudan on Friday, the U.S. envoy announced that he would try to persuade the Sudanese government especially President Omer al-Bashir to accept a deployment of international peacekeeping forces in the western Sudanese region of Darfur.

However, Sadig reiterated his government’s refusal of the international forces, saying that the Sudanese officials would only discuss with the U.S. envoy how to reinforce the African Union (AU) forces in Darfur and provide them with logistic and material support.

He said that the U.S. envoy, besides talks in Khartoum, would also visit the southern Sudanese city of Juba and al-Fashir in Darfur.

The Darfur conflict erupted in February 2003 when rebels took up arms against the government, accusing it of marginalizing the region.

The Sudanese government has rejected a UN plan to send a 20,000-strong peacekeeping force to Darfur to replace the AU troops.

On Sept. 20, the AU Peace and Security Council decided to extend the mandate of the AU forces in Darfur to Dec. 31 after it expired on Sept. 30, urging the world community to provide assistance for the cash-strapped African forces.

(Xinhua)