Khartoum demands productive dialogue with Washington

August 16, 2012 (KHARTOUM) — Presidential assistant, Nafie Ali Nafie told the US chargé d’affaires in Khartoum, Joseph D. Stafford, that Sudanese government is willing for a dialogue taking into account the interest of both countries.

Stafford met Nafie on Tuesday to renew Washington call for a constructive dialogue between the two countries in order to normalise bilateral relations.

Washington failed to remove economic sanctions, which, for long time, were used as means to push Khartoum to sign a negotiated agreement with former SPLM rebels in 2005 and to ensure the organisation of a referendum for the independence of the South Sudan in 2011.

Princeton Lyman, US special envoy for Sudan, three months before the presidential elections, called to resume talks on the bilateral talks stressing that it is not in the interest of his country “to have poor relations with Sudan.”

According to the Khartoum based Al-Ray Alam newspaper, Nafie told Stafford that a valuable dialogue should address the core issues in the relations between the two countries in order to have solid foundations for future healthy relationship.

“Washington, in its efforts for dialogue with Khartoum, was always seeking to address its concerns without consideration to Sudan’s issues and concerns,” the sources said. Adding “if dialogues do not take into account the interests of both parties, they would not be productive.”

To resume the implementation of a road map to remove Sudan from a terror list, Layman asked in a lecture about US Sudan relations on 1 August before the signing of a deal on humanitarian access to the rebel areas in the Nuba Mountains, South Kordofan and Blue Nile to allow aid groups to reach civilians in these areas, to stop aerial bombing and to resume talks with the SPLM- North rebels.

Regarding the economic sanction Lyman said the resolution of outstanding issues will allow to have the basis for consultations with the Congress to lift the sanctions .

(ST)