Sudan plays down US pledges to ease economic sanctions

October 2, 2011 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese foreign minister minimized reports about American pledges to ease economic sanctions and to provide assistance if a peaceful solution ended the Blue Nile and Kordofan disputes.

Reports published in the capital Khartoum on Sunday said the US special envoy to Sudan Princeton Lyman will arrive soon with some incentives in coordination with South Sudan to end the war in the two provinces where the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) is fighting against government troops.

“America has made promises of economic aid to Sudan, year after year, without offering something in return. That is why we do not rely on such pledge,” said foreign ministry spokesperson al-Obaid Marawih on Sunday.

“It is demonstrated that Washington does not deliver what it says”, he further stressed.

The official pointed out that Sudan’s relations with Europe have recently witnessed “significant progress” in contrast to Sudanese-American relations which remain without progress.

Speaking to the press on Saturday after his return from New York and Paris, foreign minister Ali Karti said the international community is reluctant to resolve issues related to the secession of South Sudan because of the US sanction on Sudan.

The minister was referring to the issue of Sudan’s debt to foreign countries, which reached 38 billion USD. Karti last Thursday discussed with French foreign minister Alain Juppé ways to relieve Sudan’s debt.

Speaking to the press in Paris, the Sudanese minister said that it was agreed that France will discuss, on the behalf of Sudan, relief with the World’s 19 biggest economies, the members of the Paris Club. The debt servicing incurs more than $1 billion annually.

The minister emphasized that discussions with Washington are focused on the left on sanctions. “Normalization (of bilateral relations) is big and misleading word . We are now talking about lifting of the sanctions”.

The US administration pledged to remove economic sanctions and to lift Sudan’s name from the list of countries sponsoring terrorism during the negotiations of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.

But after 2005 Washington used the two measures to put pressure on Khartoum and asked for the end Darfur conflict, followed by the full implementation of the CPA agreement on Abyei’s disputed border before they would remove sanctions.

Lyman however urged recently Darfuri rebels and the SPLM-N to seek a negotiated solution for their conflicts with Khartoum. He further said Washington does not encourage other options, alluding to rebels statements to overthrow the regime.

South Sudan’s minister of industry and investment Garang Diing Akuong told the Saudi Al-Riyadh newspaper that Obama demanded Kiir to broker a mediation between his former allies in the SPLM-N and Khartoum.

According to the minister, Obama also encouraged the South Sudanese leader to improve bilateral ties with Khartoum and to seek jointly to settle their disputes.

Kiir is expected to visit Khartoum for the first time as President of a foreign country.

Bashir and Kiir are expected to discuss Abyei, the border dispute, and Sudan’s debt as Khartoum is facing a huge deficit in hard currency as a soaring inflation hits the Sudanese economy.

Last week Bashir warned that the two countries have to seal a deal on South Sudan oil transportation fees before the end of October to shore up the shortfall in Sudan’s budget.

(ST)