The Secretary-General was encouraged by the news that today the Government of the Republic of the Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) initialed a framework agreement on the security arrangements for the interim period. He highly commends the commitment and personal efforts of First Vice-President of the Sudan, Mr. Ali Osman Taha, and Chairman of the SPLM/A, Mr. John Garang, who have been engaged in direct talks in Naivasha, Kenya, for over three weeks. The Secretary-General urges the parties to sustain the pace of the talks and reach a speedy settlement of the conflict.