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africanews

Sudan is boycotting African-European summit that begins in Libya on Monday in protest at EU pressure on President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir not to attend, foreign ministry said. "Mr Bashir will not attend the summit and Sudan pulling out of at any level," said Sudanese foreign Minister Ali Ahmad Kari.

The minister who walked out of the closed door meeting after declaring Khartoum’s decision told reporters that Bashir’s no-show was to avoid embarrassment to Libya that hosting the summit gathering 80 nations.

The minister said the decision was taken "under pressure from Europe" and that he had received instructions to pull out of the pre-summit ministerial talks.

African Union commission president Jean Ping said at the close of the discussions that the Sudanese minister had been "absolutely limpid and clear.

He deplored certain attitudes and notified us that President Bashir will not come," Ping said.

Sudan president Omar Hassan Al-Bashir has been indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and genocide in Sudan's Darfur province.

The move has isolated Sudan and restricted the movements of the president to friendly nations in the region.

The Sudanese leader denies the charges and denigrates them as part of a Western ploy to topple his regime.

The European Union which strongly backs The Hague-based ICC had asked Libya for assurances that Bashir would not attend.

It seems that Sudan has disappointed that Libya, a considered ally, did not insist that Bashir be invited to the Nov. 29 summit.

The two countries relations have been in a shadow since Tripoli agreed to host Darfur rebel leader Khalil Ibrahim despite Sudan's request that Tripoli expel him.

Speaking in Khartoum after meeting the Sudanese leader, South Africa's former president Thabo Mbeki said Saturday that Bashir has to go there for that summit which will be followed immediately by the summit meeting of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union.

Last year, a Farnco-African summit was postponed and moved from Egypt to France after Cairo insisted to invite Al-Bashir that French refused.