KHARTOUM, 13 June 2006 — The presidents of Sudan and Eritrea met yesterday for the first time in five years, setting the stage for landmark peace talks aimed at ending the simmering civil conflict in eastern Sudan. Eritrean President Esaias Afeworki was welcomed by his Sudanese counterpart Omar Bashir, and the two were expected to hold extensive talks at the presidency in Khartoum, official sources told AFP. Topping the agenda will be the latest efforts to bring an end to the rebellion by Asmara-backed movements in eastern Sudan.
Talks in Asmara between the Khartoum government and the rebel Eastern Front were due to start on Tuesday but have been postponed to Friday, pending the outcome of the Sudan-Eritrea summit, a rebel leader said.
“President Afeworki is paying the visit to Khartoum mainly to discuss the question of east Sudan and the related negotiations his country will sponsor, and it was decided that the negotiations be postponed until Friday to see what will emerge from Afeworki’s talks with Bashir,” Mahmoud Ghandur, from the Eastern Front’s Beja Congress faction, said.
