Tuesday, February 21, 2006

Bolton chides Annan on UN planning for Darfur force

On 20 Feb 2006 US Ambassador John Bolton said that Secretary-General Kofi Annan should be pushing UN officials harder in planning a force in Darfur rather than just lobbying the US for contributions.

"It would be helpful, I think, if the secretary-general, in addition to prodding the US, could also be out there talking to the African Union and the Arab League, and in fact, even talking to his own peacekeepers about the importance of moving ahead here," Bolton told reporters.

When told of Bolton's remarks, Annan said, "I'm not going to answer that." But his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the UN "planning process was moving full speed ahead."

Full report (Reuters) by Evelyn Leopold 21 Feb 2006.

Also, see Feb 21 2006 Washington Post report by Sue Pleming: US tells UN to hurry up with Darfur planning

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