To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what initiatives on Sudan the Government has put forward under the recently re-established troika mechanism; and if he will make a statement.

We are in regular contact with key partners on all of the issues that face Sudan. This includes contact with both the US and Norway, who together with the UK constituted the Troika during the negotiations for the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). Our ongoing and close contact with the US and Norway forms a part of the UK's continued engagement with key partners on the situation in Sudan.

The parties to the CPA will need to decide between themselves on the initiatives and mechanisms that will support their efforts to arrive at a peaceful conclusion to the Interim Period. International partners should be prepared to play a strongly supportive role.

My noble Friend Baroness Kinnock will give a further assessment of developments in Sudan during a debate in the Lords today, 7 January 2010.