On inter-Sudanese negotiations in Kenya

Negotiations resumed in the Kenyan province of Nivasha between the government, represented by the first vice president of the Sudanese President, Ali Othman Muhammad Taha, and the southern rebels, represented by its head John Garang, in an attempt to reach a peaceful and durable solution, amid news of progress in the two issues of Jabal al-Nouba and the Blue Nile.

Taha and Qarang are expected to sign before the end of this month an agreement that ends 20 years of civil war in Sudan, despite the fact that issues on resources, the authority, and the fate of other three areas outside the confines of Southern Sudan are still under discussions between the two sides.

Sudan's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mustafa Osman Ismail, announced that Khartoum will sign a final peace agreement with the rebels before the end of the current year.