SECRETARY-GENERAL EXPRESSES SATISFACTION OVER PROGRESS IN IGAD-SPONSORED PEACE TALKS AMONG PARTIES TO CONFLICT IN SUDAN

Press Release
SG/SM/6553
AFR/57

SECRETARY-GENERAL EXPRESSES SATISFACTION OVER PROGRESS IN IGAD-SPONSORED PEACE TALKS AMONG PARTIES TO CONFLICT IN SUDAN

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan:

The Secretary-General is pleased to learn that, at the International Authority on Development (IGAD)-sponsored peace talks in Nairobi which have just concluded, the parties to the conflict in Sudan have made progress by agreeing in principle on the right of self-determination for the people of south Sudan. He is encouraged that the next session of the negotiations will be convened in three months time in Addis Ababa. The Secretary-General reiterates his full support for the IGAD peace initiative on Sudan. He calls on the parties to sustain the political momentum to find a negotiated solution to one of the most protracted conflicts on the African continent.

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