Kibaki-Odinga Meeting

We welcome the January 24 meeting between President Kibaki and the Honorable Raila Odinga, which was facilitated by the African Union eminent persons group headed by Kofi Annan. The meeting was an important first step to launch a process of dialogue on a political solution to the elections crisis. We urge these two men to maintain momentum and to demonstrate their leadership by moving quickly to address all the outstanding issues in a spirit of compromise, inclusiveness, and patriotism.

We encourage the Kenyan people and their leaders to put the nation first in order to work out a way forward that reflects the will of the Kenyan people. We lend our voice to the calls coming from Kenyans across the ethnic, political, and social spectrum to end violence that has had such a devastating impact.

As a steadfast partner and friend of Kenya, the United States will continue to support the efforts underway to address underlying grievances so that all Kenyans can enjoy lasting peace, justice, and prosperity. We are confident that, with the encouragement and support of her friends, Kenya will seize the opportunity resulting from this crisis in order to strengthen democratic institutions in a way that will benefit all the people.

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