Gms; Khartoum, SV, ST, 31 August

US Chargé d’ Affaires, Joseph D. Stafford, said he was misquoted by a local daily when he was asked if a regime change in Khartoum might help to normalize relations with Sudan.
“My response to this question was and remains that the Sudanese people decide the form and nature of their government; we accept and respect the choice and sovereignty of the Sudanese people,” Stafford said.
Last Sunday, the ruling National Congress Party slammed statements attributed to the American diplomat published by Al-Sudani newspaper saying that regime change would make easy the normalization of bilateral relations.
Badr El-Din Ahmed Ibrahim, NCP official spokesperson, called on the American administration to observe international law and mutual respect for sovereignty in its relations with Sudan.
Stafford, in his statement to Sudan Tribune, reiterated that his government is not seeking to remove “current Sudanese Government”. He further added “we are at its full disposal to discuss prospects for normalizing relations or any other matter that it wishes to discuss”