U.S. Sen. John Kerry, right, meets with Sudanese presidential adviser Ghazi Salaheddine in Khartoum, Sudan, on Satuday.
Ethiopia - Meles Zenawi held talks with Senator John Kerry on Sudan
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi held talks with U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry on the upcoming referendum in South Sudan. Senator Kerry arrived in Ethiopia on Sunday after visiting in Sudan for his second round of discussions with Sudanese leaders to help persuade the North to accept a peaceful division of the country if the South votes to secede on January 9.
Ethiopia's PM said the two sides have to make themselves ready to accept the results of the Referendum. “Ethiopia will continue supporting the Sudanese Government and the Southern Sudan Administration to end the South Sudan crisis peacefully” the Prime Minister said.
Meles also said that his country Ethiopia was supporting the African Union High-Level Panel on Sudan, which is mandated to work for removing obstacles in the way of Southern Sudan referendum.
In a related development, the Obama administration has offered to speed up Sudan's removal from its list of state sponsors of terrorism if the Khartoum government fulfills its obligations under a 2005 peace accord, senior State Department officials confirmed Monday.