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Sudan leader in Cairo for talks Sudan leader gets Egypt's support
(about 6 hours later)
Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir has arrived in Cairo for talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir has expressed appreciation for the support from Egypt during talks in Cairo with Egyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak.
The two leaders are expected to discuss recent Sudanese efforts to reach a ceasefire with Darfur rebel groups. Mr Bashir is waiting to hear whether he will be served with an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes in Darfur.
Their talks come as the International Criminal Court is expected to announce soon if it will issue an arrest warrant for Mr Bashir for war crimes in Darfur. Cairo wants the ICC to defer the arrest warrant for at least a year.
Up to 300,000 people are thought to have died there in a six-year conflict between the government and rebels. Up to 300,000 people are said to have died in Darfur in a six-year conflict between the government and rebels.
Omar al-Bashir is an unwelcome figure in the West, but closer to home he still has crucial support. 'Arab thinking'
At an official reception ceremony, Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmad Nazif and the foreign and defence ministers were all there to greet him. Omar al-Bashir needs all the friends he can summon at the moment, and cementing ties with Egypt was very much the focus of the day.
The two sides have close economic ties but they are also working closely to find solutions to the ongoing conflict in Darfur. President Bashir is under enormous international pressure, but over lunch the Egyptians assured him that as long as there is meaningful progress on the Darfur crisis he can count on their support.
Egypt, in line with Arab thinking, believes that if an arrest warrant for President Bashir is issued at The Hague it could scupper their efforts to help the Sudanese government and could also lead to further instability on their doorstep. Egypt, in line with Arab thinking, believes that if an arrest warrant for Mr Bashir was to be issued at the Hague it could scupper their efforts to mediate between the Sudanese government and the rebels, risking further instability.
The Egyptians want the court to defer the arrest warrant for at least a year to give President Bashir more time.The Egyptians want the court to defer the arrest warrant for at least a year to give President Bashir more time.
But critics of the Sudanese government say it is the threat of indictment that has concentrated minds in Khartoum and pushed the government towards ceasefire declarations. A spokesman for the Egyptian foreign ministry said that aside from Darfur the two leaders also discussed the precarious peace between North and South which now stands at a crucial crossroads.
The Sudanese president has come to listen to advice but no doubt he will also be urging Mr Mubarak to exert his influence on Western leaders who are calling for that arrest warrant to be issued now. With two years remaining before a referendum on self-determination for the South, experts say confidence in the so-called Comprehensive Peace Agreement is diminishing, with mistrust mounting between the two parties.
The ICC will no doubt base its decision on whether the arrest warrant endangers progress on the varied peace negotiations or whether they would be further advanced with the president out of the picture.