Sudanese FM talks with next UN chief

Nov 9 2006 AFP report via ST - Sudan's FM opposes UN peacekeepers in Darfur - excerpt:

Sudan's foreign minister said Thursday he was opposed to the United Nations' plan to send peacekeepers to Darfur, after talks with his South Korean counterpart Ban Ki-moon, the next UN chief.

"I don't understand why the UN tries to send troops to Darfur," Lam Akol Ajawin told South Korea's Yonhap news agency, adding that the African Union should continue to take command in handling the crisis in Darfur.

"We also want a speedy resolution to the issue. But it is a matter to be handled by the Sudanese government and the African Union," said Ajawin, who is on a two-day trip to Seoul as part of a tour of Asia that also took him to Japan.

"We are resolved to address it, as shown in the peace talks in Abuja that started in 2004."

UPDATE: See Nov 7 2006 INTERVIEW-Next U.N. chief pledges swift action on Darfur.