Sudan President Visits China After 1 Day Delay

Sudan’s president Omar al-Bashir arrived in Beijing for talks with Chinese officials on Tuesday, a day after his plane was forced to turn back over Turkmenistan due to flight itinerary problems.

China is a major economic partner for Sudan, and Beijing extended the invitation to Sudan President in spite of an international warrant accusing him of war crimes. Sudan’s Foreign Ministry said President’s flight from the Iranian capital Tehran was delayed. The delay forced the rescheduling of a meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao. The reasons behind the delay was not clearly explained, but apparently there was confusion over the flight plan .

Al-Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court for allegedly orchestrating atrocities in Sudan’s Darfur region on the first such warrant against a sitting head of state. But, the Sudanese leader rejects the charges, and China, which has major oil investments in Sudan, has expressed concerns the indictment of al-Bashir could further destabilize the region.