Arab League chief discusses situation in Sudan with Sudanese FM

Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Othman Ismael on Sunday briefed Arab League Secretary General Esmat Abdul Meguid on the latest conditions in Sudan and the joint Libyan- Egyptian efforts to promote reconciliation efforts in Sudan.

Following the meeting, Ismael said he briefed the Arab League chief on the results of the tripartite meeting held on Saturday in Cairo between the foreign ministers of Egypt and Sudan and the assistant secretary for African affairs at the Libyan Foreign Ministry, adding that he had given the Egyptian and Libyan sides the Sudanese proposals on the national forum with the Sudanese opposition.

Concerning the development of discussions between the Sudanese government and the rebel movement led by John Garang, Ismael said negotiations continue at the present in Nairobi between the two sides, "We do expect that not all matters will be settled in these negotiations. Hopefully the main issues will be settled."

Othman Ismael stated that the Sudanese opposition expressed its readiness to sit at the discussion table with the government if the government took the steps that were discussed during the joint Egyptian - Libyan - Sudanese trilateral meeting. He added that although the steps are considered a condition, all that came in their context was already implemented by the government.

Meanwhile, it was decided to hold a trilateral meeting on the margin of meetings of the Sudanese opposition alliance that will be held in the Eritrean capital, Asmara, on Sunday between Mohammed Ossman El-Merghany, head of the opposition Sudanese Democratic National Alliance and chief of the Democratic Unionist Party; El-Sadek El-Mahdi, the former Sudanese prime minister and chief of the Ummah Party; and John Garang, head of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army.