U.S. envoy urges further negotiations to resolve Sudan political issues

KHARTOUM, Dec. 15 (Xinhua/GNA) - U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan General Scott Gration on Monday urged Sudanese political parties to engage in further negotiations to reach peaceful solutions for the country's current political issues.

"We encourage people from all parties to work through normal procedures, process and discussions that would result in movement on issues", Gration told reporters after talks with Sudanese Presidential Adviser Ghazi Salahuddin on Monday.

He added that negotiations and dialogue were the only means to reach solutions for the country's issues, saying "it is really when the parties sit down with each other and talk about the issues -- not in an atmosphere of pressure, but an atmosphere of negotiations -- is when true progress is made".

Gration also expressed his country's support for the agreement reached by the Sudanese government partners, the National Congress Party (NCP) and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), on laws of referendum for south Sudan and Abyei as well as the popular consultation for Blue Nile and South Kordofan.

The U.S envoy further stressed that Washington was working to achieve peace and stability in the western Sudanese region of Darfur, disclosing that the international mediation was holding intensive contacts to persuade leader of Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) Abdul-Wahid Mohamed Nur to join the coming peace talks between the government and Darfur armed movements.

Salahuddin, for his part, said his talks with the U.S. envoy focused on the relation between the NCP and the SPLM in the wake of their agreement on disputed bills.

"The agreement reached was based on previous consultations of the tripartite meeting, in which the United States was represented by its special envoy. We briefed him on the agreement", he said.

The U.S. special envoy arrived in Khartoum on Sunday for talks with Sudanese officials and representatives of political parties on the current situation in the country.

The NCP and SPLM on Sunday agreed on bills of referendum for southern Sudan and oil-rich Abyei as well as popular consultation for Blue Nile and South Kordofan areas.

GNA