KHARTOUM, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir praised on Monday the position of the African Union (AU) to support the peace and stability of the western Sudanese region of Darfur.

    In a joint press conference with visiting Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, who is the incumbent chairman of the AU, the Sudanese president appreciated the pan-African body for supporting Sudan in various issues.

    "The visit of President Kikwete is an opportunity for exchanging views on all the issues, especially the situation in Darfur, the peace agreement and the developments in the International Criminal Courts (ICC)," Bashir said, referring to the crime charges filed against him by an ICC prosecutor.

    Terming his talks with the Tanzanian president as "comprehensive, fruitful and constructive," the Sudanese president noted that the outcomes of the talks would be a framework for resolving the problems in Sudan.

    Al-Bashir affirmed his confidence that Kikwete would clarify Sudan's position and support it during his participation in the general assembly of the United Nations and the sideline meetings.

    Kikwete, for his part, said that he was acquainted with the real situations in Sudan through the talks he had held with the Sudanese leaders, including the president, Vice President Ali Osman Mohamed Taha and Ahmed Ibrahim al-Tahir, the speaker of the parliament.

    He said their "intensive and constructive talks" dealt with the impacts of the allegations of the ICC, the Darfur problem as well as the bilateral relations.

    Kikwete arrived in Khartoum on Sunday, following a visit to Washington where he held a meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush, and consultations with a number of leaders and officials of the African states.

    Sudanese officials said that the visit came in the framework of the AU's efforts to push the UN Security Council to prevent the ICC from issuing an arrest warrant against the Sudanese president.

    On July 14, ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo formally requested an arrest warrant against Omar al-Bashir for alleged war crimes in the western Sudanese region of Darfur, which was strongly refuted by the Sudanese government.