Tue, November 03, 2009
KHARTOUM, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Sudanese government on Monday described the current U.S. strategy towards Sudan as "tactic," and called on Washington to come out with a true strategy that deals with the overall relations between the two countries.
"We believe that the U.S strategy toward Sudan is tactics more than anything else, and therefore we need the U.S. to come out with a true strategy dealing with the overall relations," said Ghazi Salahuddin, adviser to the Sudanese president.
Salahuddin made the remarks in a statement following his meeting with visiting U.S. Envoy to Sudan Scott Gration.
Salahuddin said "We haven't discussed the strategy thoroughly, but we are critical on some of the points that were contained in it. We believe it was an intention to engage, but engage for what! We need to discuss these thoroughly."
Gration, for his part, said in a statement issued after the meeting that "our discussions were about the U.S. strategy, our priorities and how to continue to work together."
"Our strategy includes elements of bringing an end to the conflict in Darfur and fully implementing the Comprehensive Peace Agreement," he said.
"There are issues that we are focusing on -- the referendum, and the census and the associating elections and of course the component on security," Gration said.
The American envoy also met Undersecretary of the Sudanese Foreign Ministry, Mutraf Siddq, on Monday and expected to talk later with Sudanese Vice President Ali Osman Mohamed Taha.
U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday renewed economic sanctions on Sudan.
The renewed sanctions restrict U.S. trade and investment in Sudan, freeze the Sudanese governmental assets in America, and banall forms of transactions with individuals and entities associated with the crisis in the western Sudanese region of Darfur.
Sudan has been subject to U.S. sanctions since early 1990s. Washington also includes Sudan in its list of countries sponsoring terrorism and bans travel of a number of Sudanese officials.
