Bolton chides Annan on UN planning for Darfur force

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said on Monday that Secretary-General Kofi Annan should be pushing U.N. officials harder in planning a force in Sudan's Darfur region rather than just lobbying the United States for contributions.

"It would be helpful, I think, if the secretary-general, in addition to prodding the U.S., could also be out there talking to the African Union and the Arab League, and in fact, even talking to his own peacekeepers about the importance of moving ahead here," Bolton told reporters.

When told of Bolton's remarks, Annan said, "I'm not going to answer that." But his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the U.N. "planning process was moving full speed ahead." READ ON.