July 19, 2009 (KHARTOUM) — The US special envoy to Sudan Scott Gration said that progress has been made in bilateral relations with Khartoum.
Gration who is on a ten day visit to Sudan met today with the presidential adviser Ghazi Salah Al-Deen who is handling the dossier of relations with Washington.
Sudan wants full normalization of ties including upgrading diplomatic relations, lifting of economic sanctions imposed since 1997 and being removed from the list of countries that sponsor terrorism.
US officials who visited Sudan since President Obama took office appeared to suggest that these demands are on the table depending on improvement with regard to the Darfur crisis and the North-South peace agreement.
Al-Deen said that his discussions with Gration tackled obstacles that hinder the improvement of relations between the two countries.
He revealed that he protested the recent labeling of Darfur conflict by Obama as genocide saying that these statements “do not help bilateral relations or Darfur crisis”.
Gration on his end described the talks he held so far as “constructive”.
The meeting also included the Sudan People Liberation Movement (SPLM) as part of the tripartite commission to review outstanding issues in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).
Last week the head of the SPLM delegation Malik Agar told Reuters said that the talks made little progress in resolving a string of other disputes, including preparations for national elections, a disputed census and a raft of laws seen as central to the peace deal.
Gration is due to fly to Abyei on Tuesday, a day before the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) at The Hague will make its ruling on the borders of the region.
(ST)