KHARTOUM, Sudan, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- Sudan says it won't participate in a U.S. workshop aimed at bringing peace to Darfur.
The Sudanese Foreign Ministry announced Wednesday it would not participate in the workshop to be held in Washington in two weeks on peace in western Sudan, the Sudan Tribune reported.
Rahama-Tallah Mohamed Osman, an undersecretary at the Sudan foreign ministry, said in a statement Darfur is progressing toward peace and had implemented some parts of the Doha Darfur Peace Document.
The statement came after a meeting in Khartoum between Rahama-Tallah and Dane Smith, the U.S. senior adviser on Darfur.
Organizers of the Oct. 27-28 workshop say it will focus on the peace document and ways to strengthen it. The DDPD has been signed by only one rebel group, the Tribune said.
Rahama-Tallah called on the Obama administration to try to persuade rebel groups that have not signed the document to do so.
Khartoum, the Tribune said, opposes any discussion of the Darfur peace agreement the Sudanese government signed with the Liberation and Justice Movement in Doha in July.
U.S. officials have said they support the agreement but say it should form the basis of talks with other rebel groups.
The Justice and Equality Movement rebel group participated in the Doha talks but did not work on the text.
Rebel groups not involved in the Doha deal are expected to attend the Washington workshop.
