Sudan still considering UN resolution

Sudan stepped back today from rejecting the UN Security Council resolution on Darfur, with Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail saying such talk was unwarranted.

“If you ask me myself as a foreign minister about the resolution, I would tell you that if we look closely at this matter, we will find out that there is no reason to reject the resolution as it doesn’t contain anything new, anything other than what already has been signed on in the agreement with the United Nations,” Ismail told reporters.

The Security Council passed a resolution yesterday that gave the Sudanese government 30 days to disarm Arab militias blamed for the deaths of thousands in Darfur province or face diplomatic and economic penalties.

Hours later Sudanese Information Minister El-Zahawi Ibrahim Malik said Sudan rejected the resolution, which “does not conform with the agreements signed between the government and the United Nations.”

Asked about Malik’s statement, Ismail said: “The Cabinet is the only body charged with responding to the resolution.”

Ismail said that after the Cabinet’s meeting tomorrow, the government will issue its definitive response to the resolution.