Kerry, Karti discuss resumption of talks on Sudan-US relations

October 30, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – US secretary of state John Kerry has requested his Sudanese counterpart, Ali Karti, resume talks on bilateral relations, the Sudanese foreign ministry said on Thursday.

Earlier this month, the US special envoy for Sudan and South Sudan, Donald Booth, said he was ready to visit Khartoum to resume discussions on bilateral relations and ways to improve it.

Booth has not visited the Sudanese capital since last December after Khartoum decided to stop discussions on the “unjust” American sanctions, saying US policy is determined by activists and lobby groups not government officials.

“Sudanese foreign minister Ali Ahmed Karti received a telephone call from his American counterpart and they discussed ways to improve bilateral relations,” said a statement published by the official news agency SUNA .

“The American minister expressed his country’s desire to hold direct negotiations with Sudan on outstanding issues,” it added.

During the telephone conversation, Karti reminded Kerry the broken promises on the lift of sanctions, the agency further reported.

Last week Washington renewed economic sanctions on Sudan saying “the actions and policies of the Government of Sudan continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States”.

The Sudanese government denounced the decision, accusing the American administration of using “various reasons and arguments to justify its targeting for Sudan which is nothing but political intrigue, clear contradiction and double standards”.

nonetheless, the two ministers concurred on the need to discuss the bilateral relations and expressed readiness to resume dialogue, SUNA said.

Different sources say that Karti and presidential assistant Ibrahim Ghandour are among those who support the resumption of discussions with Washington to normalise bilateral relations and reach an agreement on the lift of sanctions.

Washington admits Sudan’s cooperation in the fight against terrorism, but added new conditions related to the end of the conflicts in Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan.

“Our concern for marginalised populations, our interests in the resolution of deadly internal conflicts, and our support for democratic governance derive from principles that reach far beyond Sudan’s borders,” Booth emphasised in lecture on the Two Sudans at the Atlantic Council on 9 October.

(ST)

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