President al-Bashir says U.S. plans to divide Sudan into five countries
November 25, 2017 (KHARTOUM) – Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir reiterated his accusations against the United States of and accused Washington of planning to divide his country into five states.
Sudanese were surprised to hear al-Bashir on his first visit to Russia asks President Vladimir Putin to support his country against American plans against the Sudan.
Last October, Washington lifted economic sanctions on Sudan and the two countries engaged discussion on the removal of the east African country from the list of states sponsor of terrorism.
During his recent work visit to Russia, the Sudanese president gave in a long interview to the Russian government-controlled RIA Novosti. Its full text has been published by the Arabic service of Sputnik (Voice of Russia) which is described as a “Russian propaganda” outlet.
Asked about his demand for protection during his meeting with Putin, al-Bashir said we wanted to highlight “the big U.S. pressure and conspiracy” on Sudan in Darfur crisis and the huge pressure exerted on his government to separate the South Sudan.
“Now we have information that the American quest is to divide the Sudan into five countries If we do not find protection and security. America took the world leadership and devastated the Arab world. (See) what happened in Afghanistan, what happened in Iraq, what happened in Syria, what happened in Yemen and what happened in Sudan,” said al-Bashir.
“Sudan’s division was under American pressure and conspiracy. The plan is to destroy Sudan and divide it into five countries. This is the American plan,” he stressed.
Al-Bashir’s visit to Russia coincided with the end of a tripartite summit in Moscow where Putin got the support of the Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani and Turkey’s Tayyip Erdogan for his plan to bring peace in Syria. Also, it took place four days after a meeting the Russian president held with the Syrian President al-Assad in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.
Abdel Bari Atwan, the editor-in-chief of the London-based electronic Arabic daily Rai-al-Youm, said Bashir’s sharp criticism of the U.S. foreign policy in the Arab and Islamic world is in line with the Turkish rapprochement with Moscow.
“Bashir’s statement was not a fortuitous coincidence, nor a slip of the tongue,” he wrote in an editorial widely circulated in the social media. According to Atwan it was a deliberate response to a heated statement by the Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman where he threatened to wage war against Iran opening the door for more U.S. intervention of the region.
In his interview with the Russian media, al-Bashir stopped at his offer to establish a Russian military base on the Red Sea coast, adding he wants to reequip the Sudanese army with ussian weapons.
He further confirmed that the Sudanese army has requested Russian fighter jets and may buy S-300 air defence system to replace the old Soviet surface-to-air missiles.
“We requested Su-30 (fighters) because they cover the Sudanese airspace, as well as Su-35. We have no intentions to carry out aggression abroad, we want to protect our country,” al-Bashir said.
(ST)