KHARTOUM, Sudan, Dec. 5 -- Sudanese officials said they expected relations with the United States to normalize by the end of the month when they sign a U.S.-backed peace agreement with rebels in the southern part of the country to end 21 years of war.
In interviews last week, officials said a separate conflict in the western region of Darfur would not impede progress on improving ties.
_____Crisis in Sudan_____
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Q&A: Darfur A brief explanation of the issues and current humanitarian situation in Western Sudan.
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Photos: Sudan's Rebels
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Danforth Says He Left Position At U.N. for Personal Reasons (The Washington Post, Dec 4, 2004)
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Ambassador to Leave U.N. Job Next Month (The Washington Post, Dec 3, 2004)
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Darfurians Could Lose Land They Fled (The Washington Post, Dec 3, 2004)
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For a Small Girl in Darfur, A Year of Fear and Flight (The Washington Post, Nov 26, 2004)
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New Pilgrims, Familiar Dreams (The Washington Post, Nov 25, 2004)
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They emphasized commitments made two years ago by Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, who said that after a peace agreement was reached and the government had met other conditions, "a road map" would be designed to move toward lifting economic sanctions and removing Sudan from a list of countries accused of supporting terrorism.
Sudan's foreign minister, Mustafa Osman Ismail, said President Bush "is keen on achieving peace and stability in Sudan and normalizing relations between the two countries." He added that he did not think Powell's resignation would set back changes, because "the State Department is fully expected to implement" Bush's policy "and to work in harmony with him."
The war in Darfur broke out in February 2003 when two African rebel groups attacked police stations and military outposts to protest what they called regional discrimination by the mostly Arab elite controlling the government.
The government responded by arming and supporting a militia, called the Janjaweed, to crush the rebellion, and by bombing villages where they said rebel supporters where hiding, human rights groups and the United Nations have said. The conflict has driven 1.7 million Africans from their homes and left 70,000 people dead, the groups say.
The United States has said atrocities in Darfur amounted to genocide. The Sudanese government has said what has happened is simply a war.
State Minister Ahmed Haroon said the government was committed to a cease-fire with the Darfur rebels, but he accused them of killing 98 civilians and carrying out dozens of attacks in the eight months since the agreement was signed.
Energy and Mining Minister Awad Ahmed Jaz said in a rare interview that the crisis would sort itself out, and he invited U.S. oil companies to Sudan to explore possibilities. "Americans can come," he said. "The business is moving very fast and they are welcome. Bring your expertise and your money and come when you drop your sanctions."
Jaz said China and Malaysia were doing oil business with Sudan, and that China "stays out of politics."
U.S. officials have said that while normalization was still "on the table," the Darfur crisis has made relations far more complicated. Cease-fire violations by rebels and the government have continued in recent weeks.
"Instead of sliding gloriously into the front door of peace, Sudan is backing in with Darfur still on fire," a senior State Department official said on condition of anonymity because he has not spoken to Sudanese officials about normalizing relations. "They will have to show us some goodwill on Darfur."
