Editor’s summary

U.N. special envoy to Sudan Lakhdar Brahimi called May 18 for a speedy return to the negotiating table to achieve a peaceful settlement to the Darfur crisis.

Brahimi made the call following a meeting with Sudanese President Omar Bashir on preparations to resume peace talks on Darfur by the end of May and the implementation of a peace agreement in southern Sudan.

He said the situation in war-torn Darfur in western Sudan has improved in recent months.

U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan visited Sudan for three days, beginning May 27, and called for peace talks.