U.N. Secretary-general Kofi Annan Discusses Darfur and Iran’s Nuclear Threat

JIM LEHRER:

Mr. Secretary-general, welcome.

KOFI ANNAN, U.N. Secretary-general:

Thank you.

JIM LEHRER:

Does it appear now there is going to be a deal on Darfur?

KOFI ANNAN:

They are close, but they are not there yet, and lots of effort is going into it in Abuja. You have the mediator, Salim Ahmed Salim, who is working very hard with the support of President Obasanjo of Nigeria and the head of the African Union, President Sasson Nguesso of Congo, and they are bringing about five or six African leaders to pile on the pressure.

And, of course, President Bush also has sent Deputy Secretary of State Zoellick to the place, and I have my own representative from Sudan on the ground, in addition to the British minister of economic development, Hilary Benn, so you have quite a lot of high-powered people really trying to nurture and steer this into a closure, and I hope we do get a solution.

JIM LEHRER:

Do you have the feeling that both sides, meaning the Sudan government and the rebels of Darfur, want this thing resolved now?

KOFI ANNAN:

That is what they say, but we have to test it. We have to really press them to do it.

The lead negotiator for Sudan has gone back to Khartoum, because they indicated they were ready to sign the agreement as put forward by the mediator; the rebels were not ready to sign.

And people have been working with the rebels, and I hope, when the Sudanese mediator, Ali Taha goes back, with the help of all of these presidents and all of this on the ground, that they will be able to steer them in the right direction and get them to sign, because that's the only viable solution.

But it has to be a serious agreement, an agreement that will stand the test of time and make a difference on the ground, not something patched up that doesn't hold…

JIM LEHRER:

Is your understanding of the agreement that, if it in fact is signed, and if it in fact is real, it will stop the killing, stop the displacements?

KOFI ANNAN:

Not immediately. It will help, but it will take some time. You know, with these things, by the time you get the order down to the men on the ground fighting and get it down all the way to the lowest level, it does take a bit of time.

And so it will help, but we have to be prepared for some dislocation. And not only that, we need to strengthen the African Union forces on the ground to help with the implementation and to help provide better security for the displaced persons and the refugees.