Khartoum commends Nairobi agreement

The Sudanese foreign minister Mustafa Ismael on Tuesday described the agreement which was concluded in Nairobi between the Sudanese government ad the rebels as "an important step" in order to consolidate the ceasefire agreement.

In an arrival statement at Khartoum airport coming from Addis Ababa where he took part in the meetings of the African federation, Ismael said that the agreement is "an important step to the road of peace." He added that according to the information he has, there is a progress attained during the Nairobi negotiations on the issue of sharing the resources.

It was announced on Tuesday in Nairobi that the Sudanese government had reached an agreement with the southern rebels on a series of measures aiming to prevent any violation of the ceasefire reached in October 2002 in Kenya.

The Sudanese minister explained that the negotiations which were suspended on Tuesday will be resumed after Eid al-Adha (holiday) in a date which will be set later and will, in particular deal with the issue of sharing the country's resources.