Sudanese opposition leader ready for reconciliation

Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa yesterday conferred with a key Sudanese opposition leader in Cairo over the situation in Sudan.

Emerging from the meeting, Sadiq Al-Mahdi, the former Sudanese prime minister, told reporters he was supporting dialogue to forge national reconciliation in this country.

"Delays in this dialogue are to be blamed on the recalcitrance of the ruling system in Sudan and its laboring under the illusion that it could handle the country's issues by might," he said.

"The opposition is ready to fulfill the Sudanese people's aspirations for peace," Al-Mahdi said, asserting the importance of having a key Egyptian role in this respect.

Asked about Cairo - Khartoum ties, Al-Mahdi, who leads the opposition Umma party, said the problem was in the Sudanese regime's encouragement of militancy, Al-Khartoum daily reported.