U.S. envoy urges China to use influence in Sudan

By John Acher

OSLO (Reuters) - China should use its economic might to influence events in Darfur and its absence from an international donors' meeting on Sudan was disappointing, the U.S. special envoy for the east African state said on Monday.

Richard Williamson told Reuters in an interview that Sudan remained the "world's biggest humanitarian crisis" and called the violence in its Darfur region a "genocide in slow-motion."

Williamson criticized China's absence from the start of an international donors' conference on Sudan on Monday.

"China is the country with the deepest economic involvement with the nation of Sudan -- they buy the bulk of Sudan's oil," Williamson said. "I am told that close to 6 percent of the imported oil in China comes from Sudan."

"So if they were to choose to use that influence constructively, they could have an impact, and one that other members of the international community would like to see them take," he said.

International experts estimate some 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million been driven from their homes in five years of revolt in Darfur. Khartoum blames the Western media for exaggerating the conflict and puts the death toll at 10,000.

Williamson said he told a closed meeting on Darfur in Oslo that there could be no progress on Darfur if the Comprehensive Peace Agreement unraveled. The 2005 peace accord ended 25 years of fighting between northern and southern Sudan.

"While there is an acute need for economic development in Darfur, no meaningful progress is possible until we have a secure situation," he said, calling reports on Monday of an air bombardment in Darfur "extremely troubling and unacceptable."

"NO PERMANENT ENEMIES"

The United States, which imposed economic sanctions on Sudan in 1997 and branded it a state sponsor of terrorism, has recently held out the possibility of improving ties and has presented Sudan with a long list of requirements.

"I have laid out the type of things that will be necessary on a long and difficult road to improve relations," he said.

"If they make a promise and deliver, and it has a concrete positive result, then we will look at some incentives."

He pointed to Washington's restoration of ties with Libya after Tripoli renounced weapons of mass destruction in 2003: "With that dramatic shift, the United States showed it has no permanent enemies."

Williamson welcomed Sudan's pledge to provide security escorts for humanitarian convoys in Darfur every 48 hours.

The World Food Programme last month warned it would have to cut back deliveries in Darfur by 50 percent without security and Williamson said the pledge would ensure thousands of metric of food reached the needy.

(Editing by Jon Boyle)