Sudan Participates in Baghdad Summit

A presidential statement here Sunday said that Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir had confirmed he would be attending the Arab Summit in Baghdad in person, pledging his attendance in a phone call with President Jalal Talabani Saturday night.

The Iraqi Foreign Ministry promised Al-Bashir, who is still facing an arrest warrant by the International Court of Justice, protection during his stay.

Press reports had last week quoted a ministry official saying Baghdad was informed by the INTERPOL that Al-Bashir would be arrested should he show up for the summit.

The ministry later refuted the reports, and a following statement further stressed “the Sudanese President would be 100 percent safe while in Iraq, according to KUNA.