Sudan slams Eritrea for US base
2002-11-08 12:37
Khartoum - Sudan is accusing Eritrea of offering the Red Sea port of Massawa as a military base for US troops, Foreign Minister Mustafa Ismail said in remarks published on Friday.
"The Eritrean regime has offered the Massawa harbour to be a
military base for American troops," Ismail was quoted by local
newspapers as saying, adding that he was quoting reliable sources, including Western ones.
He said, however, that the US administration had denied taking a decision on accepting the Eritrean offer.
Ismail said his government is not as much concerned with that
issue as it is with what he regarded as Eritrea's hostile attitude against its neighbours.
"Our concern is that Eritrea should stop its aggression against the neighbouring countries," said Ismail.
The Sudanese official demanded that Eritrea refrain from
interfering in Sudanese affairs, including the peace process. "This regime cannot bring peace to Sudan, as a person cannot offer what he does not possess ... it cannot achieve peace even inside Eritrea."
Eritrea is a member of the Intergovernmental Authority on
Development, which is sponsoring peace negotiations between
Khartoum and the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army.
"It is the Eritrean people who are responsible for the behaviour of the regime in Eritrea," said Ismail.
Sudan "looks forward to a change in the policy of the Eritrean
regime, not the regime itself as this is the responsibility of the Eritrean people," Ismail said. - Sapa-AFP
- SAPA