President Bush urges Sudan leaders to settle differences
WASHINGTON, March 22 (Reuters) – U.S. President George W. Bush on Monday pressed Sudan’s president and its main rebel leader to quickly settle their remaining differences and complete a peace agreement.
Bush spoke by telephone to both Omar Hassan al-Bashir, Sudan’s president, and John Garang, leader of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army.
Bush told the leaders that “now is the time for Sudan to show the world that they can reconcile their differences, make peace and improve the lives of all the Sudanese,” White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters.
Bush urged Bashir to accept a U.S. proposal over disputed areas as “the basis for working out remaining issues and completing a framework agreement in coming days,” McClellan said. He also urged Bashir to “rein in militia” and allow humanitarian aid to flow to the country’s western province.
The president urged both sides to “work with a sense of urgency to finalize an agreement,” and told them that “Sudan’s relationship with the United States will change once a peace is completed.”
“The United States wants a new relationship with Sudan,” McClellan said.
Peace talks between Sudan’s government and southern rebels aimed at ending two decades of civil war in the oil producing country will be extended to try to resolve outstanding issues, mediators said earlier on Monday.
The two sides have made a series of breakthrough agreements during close to two years of talks in neighboring Kenya, but have recently been held up by disputes over the contested oil-rich area of Abyei and power-sharing arrangements.
The latest round of talks, which began on Feb. 17, had been set to end on Monday. It is the second time they have been extended — they were originally due to finish last Tuesday.
Sudan’s war began in 1983 and has killed an estimated 2 million people. It pits the southern-based SPLA against the northern government. Many other groups are also involved. Issues at stake include religious freedom and southern independence.