Russian observers will take part in monitoring a referendum on the independence of Southern Sudan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday.
"We have expressed full support to the Sudanese government's readiness to cooperate with Juba [Southern Sudan's capital], which represents the country's south, in resolving all issues that will determine the character of their future relations," Lavrov told journalists after talks with his Sudanese counterpart Ali Karti in Moscow.
The Russian minister also said Russia will relocate a group of four helicopters from Chad to Sudan to help the UN mission to assure security during the referendum, which is scheduled for January 9.
Southern Sudan received autonomous status as part of a peace agreement between the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M) and the Sudanese government that ended the 1983-2005 civil war.
The Sudanese government will recognize the results of the referendum, Karti told journalists.
"We are committed to holding the referendum in a calm and normal atmosphere," he said, adding that the Sudanese authorities "stand for the creation of two viable states that would implement their international obligations."
After the referendum is held, the government in Northern Sudan will continue dialogue with the South on issues such as borders, citizenship, and the sharing of natural resources, he said.
Southern Sudan's vast oil deposits, which, according to Sudanese Minister of Petroleum Lual Deng, account for more than 80 percent of the country's proven reserves, have long made its independence an issue of concern in the North.
Last week, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir said: "We say if they choose unity, we are ready for the national government to give up its full share in the oil of the South to the government of the South."
The Sudan People's Liberation Movement has called for residents of Southern Sudan to support the independence.
Karti also said that the Sudanese government would allocate $2 billion in the next four years for the development and stabilization of war-torn Darfur, which has been in a state of humanitarian emergency since 2003.
MOSCOW, December 23 (RIA Novosti)
