EU denies plan for military intervention in western Sudan

BRUSSELS, April 17, 2004 (SUNA) — The European Union (EU) denied existence of a concrete plan for intervention in western Sudan’s Darfur region.

A press statement issued from the Office of the High Commissioner of the European Union for Foreign Policy Javier Solana said there was no concrete act and there were no talks or preparations on the possibility of sending a military mission to Sudan.

The statement denied a statement attributed to official of the military committee of the EU, General Gustav Haglund, which he made to the Financial Times newspaper on April 12 on the possibility of the EU intervention in Darfur.

Acting Sudanese Charge d’Affaires in Brussels Mohammed Yousif Hassan explained that he had contacted the office of Javier Solana and expressed to him that the Sudanese government was displeased of the statement, which did not commensurate with the continuous cooperation between Sudan and EU.

The statement also ignored the peace agreement concluded recently in Ndjamena and Sudan’s commitment to its implementation and readiness to accept African Union monitoring for the cease-fire between the two parties.

The Acting Charge d’Affaires added that the spokeswoman of Solana Office apologized of the statement and the negative indicators it caused, saying that General Gustav Haglund was speaking only on behalf of himself as his assignment in the EU military force had expired two weeks ago.

She said the Commission did not discuss or decide anything about intervention in Sudan.