UN Secretary General Kofi Annan acknowledged Tuesday that there was great progress in security and humanitarian situation in Sudan's western Darfur region, the Sudan News Agency (SUNA) reported.

UN envoy to Sudan Jan Pronk conveyed this message in a written statement by Annan to Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir.

"It is necessary that all Darfur parties go to the Abuja peace talks on June 10 honestly and seriously to realize a political solution to the issue by the end of this year," Annan said in the statement.

During his meeting with Pronk, el-Bashir reiterated his government's commitment to the Abuja talks and called on the international community to press the Darfur rebels to go to peace talks with a genuine attitude in order to reach a final political solution to the Darfur crisis.

At a press conference following his meeting with el-Bashir, Pronk confirmed that the Sudanese government "has respected its word" regarding the ceasefire in Darfur over the last two months.

He added the situation in Darfur "is not as bad" as reported by some foreign media, urging the international community to help the Darfur refugees to return homes.

Sudan's arid and impoverished western region of Darfur has been in the grip of civil war for more than two years. Many people have been killed or driven from their homes.

The African Union has brokered a shaky ceasefire and sent a small force of military observers, but it has struggled to find a political solution and three previous rounds of talks in the Nigerian capital of Abuja made little progress.

Source: Xinhua