USA: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice meets with special U.S. envoy to Sudan Andrew Natsios to discuss the dire situation in Darfur

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with the special U.S. envoy to Sudan Andrew Natsios Wednesday (December 20) to discuss the dire situation in Darfur. Natsios has just returned from a trip to Sudan. He has reported some progress after a four-day trip to Khartoum during which he met with President Omar al-Bashir. He had a two-hour meeting with Bashir. According to Natsios the Khartoum regime is now prepared to accept the presence of United Nations technical staff, including military advisors, in Sudan. On Friday, Rice had warned that Sudan would be held accountable if it did not accept international troops into Darfur and she dangled the threat of sanctions against Khartoum. There has been growing U.S. frustration at Sudan's refusal to allow international troops to go to Darfur, where more than 200,000 people have been killed in three years of fighting that the United States says is genocide. The United States and others are considering a range of options against Sudan, from travel bans on Sudanese officials and an assets freeze to imposing a no-fly zone in Darfur. Rice said that the presidential statement was delivered in record time by the Security Council and is now in place. She said that it is now up to the government of Khartoum to respond positively to that action in the U.N.-- "because it is extremely important that a robust security force, a robust peacekeeping force that can actually help to end the violence and to bring relief to the many innocent men, women and children who are suffering in Sudan -- that these steps be taken." Natsios also said they were able to get an extension for humanitarian efforts. "We also did get a two-year extension of the accelerated procedure for NGOs and aid workers from the U.N. to get into Darfur. They have not been extending this process. It's up in January," he said.

ITN Source | December 21, 2006

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