The UN Security Council failed to reach agreement last night on a US-sponsored resolution on Sudan.
The draft resolution threatens oil sanctions against the Sudanese government over the conflict in Darfur.
The Sudanese authorities have rejected the accusation by the US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, that the Darfur conflict amounts to genocide.
Sudan's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Najeib Abdelwahab, said Mr Powell's position had not been supported by the EU and the African Union.
He accepted that Sudan had made mistakes, but claimed Mr Powell's remarks were being made in the heat of the US presidential election campaign.
