Turkey concerned with Sudan future

Agence France-Presse

"We will see what consequences the warrant will have, but, to be honest, we have concerns," Babacan said on the sidelines of a NATO meeting in Brussels.

The International Criminal Court, or ICC issued the warrant Wednesday, making Beshir the first sitting president to face such action. The Sudanese leader faces five counts of crimes against humanity and two of war crimes.

Turkey under criticism

NATO member Turkey holds a non-permanent seat in the UN Security Council, which, under the ICC statute, can ask the court to suspend the investigation or prosecution for 12 months.

The African Union said Thursday it was negotiating with Security Council members to defer or suspend proceedings against Beshir.

"We believe the problems (in Sudan) cannot be resolved by excluding the Sudanese administration. On the contrary, the problems will grow," Babacan said, according to Anatolia.

Last year, the Islamist-rooted Turkish government faced criticism for hosting Beshir twice: first on a bilateral visit in January, and then at multilateral cooperation talks with African leaders in August.

"The administration has shortcomings and mistakes," Babacan said. "But if we really want a solution in Sudan, we can achieve it only... with the cooperation and support of the administration."

Sudan has vowed not to cooperate with the court and many African and Arab states along with Sudan's key ally China have called for the warrant to be suspended.

The UN says up to 300,000 people have died and some 2.5 million have been displaced from their villages since the Darfur conflict broke out in February 2003. The Sudanese government puts the death toll at 10,000.