ISTANBUL: Sudanese President Omar Bashir arrived in Turkey yesterday for a summit of African leaders this week in his first trip abroad since an international court moved to indict him for genocide.
International Criminal Court Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo last month asked the court to issue an arrest warrant for Bashir on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.
Asked about the possibility of an ICC warrant being issued while Bashir was in Istanbul, a Turkish Foreign Ministry official declined to speculate on what Turkey would do.
“Bashir was invited to the summit as an African country leader and there is no arrest warrant against him at this moment. If there are any requests, we will evaluate them then,” the official said.
