Bush telephones Bashir, vows support to Sudan's peace

US president George W. Bush on Monday made a telephone call with his Sudanese peer Omar Hassan al-Bashir in which he expressed condolences on the death of vice president and leader of the People's Movement (SPLM), John Garang, who was killed last Saturday in a plane crash.

According to the White House spokesman, Bush stressed to Bashir his support to the peace efforts in Sudan, stressing the importance of the Abuja talks over the crisis in Darfur.

The spokesman told journalists on board of the presidencial plane that Bush commended during the telephone call the commitment of President Bashir to implement the comprehensive peace agreement because it sends a "positive message to the Sudanese people." Bush also made a similar telephone call while heading for new Mexico with Rebeika, the widow of Garang. The spokesman for the White House explained that Bush offered his condolences and those of the American people to her, stressing Washington's support to her following the death of the late leader.