Sudan accuses EU of seeking to create a rift in African position

Sudan accused the European Union of seeking to create a rift in African position after the EU’s rejection to invite the Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir to the AU-EU Summit scheduled to be held in Brussels on April 2-3.

The Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Sunday that “as of 30 March 2014, the President of Sudan has not received an invitation to the Summit.”

The Sudanese MFA accused the EU of “evasive tactics” and “attempts to buy time” in order to cause a rift in the unified African position, through selective invitation to such forums.

Brussels has invited 90 European and African countries to attend the summit scheduled for next week. Approximately 65 heads of state will attend the event.

A spokesperson for the EU said earlier that the African Union has the right to invite the Sudanese president, although the EU declined to extend an invitation to him.

The International Criminal Court issued two arrest warrants for Al-Bashir in 2009 and 2010 on charges of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur region in Sudan.