Egypt Rejects Foreign Intervention in Sudan's Affairs: PresidentEgyptian President Hosni Mubarak stressed on Monday his country rejects any foreign intervention in Sudan's internal affairs, Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa said.Egypt's opposition to any foreign interference in the Sudanese affairs is to avert threats to Sudan's territorial integrity, Moussa quoted Mubarak as saying after the president met with visiting Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Othman Ismail. The United States and some Eastern African countries reportedly have been supporting the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), the major rebel group in southern Sudan, which has been fighting since 1983 to seek greater autonomy from the Muslim government in Khartoum for the mostly Christian and animist south. The Egyptian position is also aimed at securing the implementation of a dialog-based peace initiative, proposed jointly by Egypt and Libya last year, under which "we are all working to stop the bloodletting" in Sudan, Mubarak said. The Egyptian-Libyan initiative calls for permanent ceasefire in Sudan and a peace conference to be attended by the government and the opposition, including the SPLA and the northern Muslim political parties which want to share power with the government. Egypt's keenness on helping safeguard Sudan's territorial integrity results from its fear that a possible disintegration of the largest African country will jeopardize its major water source, the Nile. Ismail, who arrived in Cairo earlier for a brief visit, said he delivered a message to Mubarak from his Sudanese counterpart Omar Hassan Ahmed el-Bashir on the current situation in Sudan and the bilateral relations. Mubarak asserted the importance of promoting the bilateral ties and preparing for the joint committee meeting slated for September 2, he added. Later, Moussa and Ismail went into a meeting to discuss arrangements for a preparatory meeting for the peace conference to group all parties related to the Sudanese issue, and efforts exerted to end the civil war and realize peace and national reconciliation in Sudan. Ismail has said that both the government and the opposition have agreed to take part in the proposed dialog. He expressed hope that the process will succeed in achieving the aspired-for goal. |
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