Rice slams breakdown in Kenya talks

0 Comments | AFP, February, 2008

WASHINGTON (AFP) — US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Tuesday slammed the collapse of talks over Kenya's political deadlock, warning there was no excuse for delay and that bilateral ties hung in the balance.

"While some progress has been made, I am disappointed by the failure of leadership necessary to resolve all the remaining issues," Rice said in a toughly-worded statement.

"There can be no excuse for further delay. There can also be no excuse for violence, and those responsible must be held accountable."

Some 1,500 people have been killed in the past two months in the violence triggered by disputed presidential elections won by President Mwai Kibaki, which has split the country along ethnic lines.

Rice issued her statement just before former...