Monday, Feb 07, 2011
WASHINGTON (AFP)--Senior U.S. Sen. John Kerry called Monday for the U.S. to begin the process of removing Sudan from a terrorism blacklist in the wake of the South's overwhelming secession vote.
Kerry said in a statement that he had delivered a letter from U.S. President Barack Obama to Sudan in October saying that once the South voted and the North recognized the results, the process of delisting Sudan could begin.
"Now that Sudan has taken these important steps, we should begin this review," said the Democratic lawmaker, a former presidential candidate who heads the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee and is close to the White House.
"Its results will be dictated by Sudanese actions and the requirements of U.S. law, but I am extremely hopeful that just as North and South Sudan have embarked on a new relationship, Khartoum is attempting to redefine its relationship with the United States and the rest of the international community," Kerry said.
Washington currently lists Cuba, Iran, Sudan, and Syria as state sponsors of terrorism, which notably requires a ban on U.S. economic and security assistance and restrictions on dual-use technology as well as other financial sanctions.
The lawmaker, who traveled to Sudan in October, November and January, praised the results of the referendum as "historic" and said "all of the people of Sudan can take pride in the peaceful beginning of a new country."
"We must remember that there is much to be accomplished in terms of cooperation between these two independent but interconnected countries in the months before South Sudan is officially independent in July," said Kerry.
Washington aims for "peace throughout the region" and "Darfur is and will remain central to the U.S. policy agenda and to future U.S.-Sudanese relations," he stressed.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
07-02-11 1848GMT
