Sudan accuses Sarkozy of ‘riding American wave’

July 1, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir on Sunday accused his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy of “riding the American wave” by turning his back on the “pro-Arab” stance of his predecessor.

“Nicolas Sarkozy’s France has different orientations to that of Jacques Chirac,” Beshir told reporters. “With Chirac’s departure, the Arabs have lost a loyal friend.”

He said Sarkozy, who made dealing with the crisis in Darfur a priority after taking over from Chirac in May, was “riding the American wave”, in reference to a French-sponsored international conference in June aimed at ending the violence in the western Sudanese region.

At the conference, France, the United States, Khartoum-ally China and 15 other nations agreed to redouble efforts to end bloodshed in Darfur by supporting a new peace force and negotiations on a settlement.

But Khartoum rejected the conference saying it was a distraction to ongoing peace efforts by the United Nations and the African Union.

(AFP)