Sudan president Bashir asks Putin for protection from US

Moscow: Sudan's President asked his Russian counterpart on Thursday for help to face down the United States, in a meeting held in the Russian Black Sea city of Sochi.

During his meeting with Vladimir Putin, Omar al-Bashir accused the US of splitting South Sudan, which became an independent country recognized by the international community in 2011. Al-Bashir has been charged by the International Criminal Court for his part in genocide in the Darfur region of South Sudan, Efe news agency reported.

"In the end, it turned out that our country split into two parts, which resulted in a worsening of the situation, and as a result, we need protection from the aggressive actions of the United States," al-Bashir said.

Al-Bashir, who has been in power for almost thirty years, pointed out that Sudan is to launch a programme to rearm the Sudanese Armed Forces.

"We are launching a comprehensive program aimed at re-equipping our armed forces, and we have agreed with (the Russian) defense minister that Russia will assist us in this task," al-Bashir said.

When asked about charges of genocide against the Sudanese president, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that al-Bashir is the legitimate president of Sudan.