The US special envoy for Sudan met yesterday in Kenya with negotiators from Khartoum and a southern rebel group in a new effort to push the two sides to conclude a comprehensive peace deal, the State Department said.

Former senator John Danforth held brief talks with the two sides at the site of the peace talks at Lake Naivasha northeast of Nairobi shortly after arriving in Kenya on an open-ended mission to press for a quick agreement, a department official said.

"How long he stays will depend on the negotiations," the official said on condition of anonymity.

Earlier, State Department spokesperson Richard Boucher said a settlement of the 20-year-old Sudanese civil war between the Islamic government in Khartoum and the mainly Christian and anamist Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) remained a US priority.

"The clock continues to tick and our efforts remain under way," Boucher told reporters.

"In addition to senator Danforth, we've had diplomats on the scene working hard to encourage the parties to achieve some results and to achieve them as soon as possible," he said.

The two sides had already missed a self-imposed December 31 deadline for a deal.

That pledge was made to US Secretary of State Colin Powell during a visit to Naivasha in October and since then Washington has ratcheted up the pressure urging the two sides not to miss a "historic opportunity" for peace.

Khartoum and the SPLA did sign a key component of a full settlement - a wealth-sharing agreement - last week, but they are still locked in delicate talks over elements of power-sharing and the future status of three disputed areas in the centre of Sudan.

Both sides have said they expect a deal within a few weeks if not sooner, but there is widespread speculation in Washington that US President George W Bush would like, if possible, to see an agreement by the time he delivers his annual "State of the Union" address to Congress on January 20.

"Our effort is for them to really wrap up some of these issues as quickly as possible," Boucher said. "We think, while the issues are very difficult, that the issues are, in fact, clear and that they just have to decide on some of these things".

Success in Sudan would likely boost the president's political capital in an election year by demonstrating diplomatic results with an Islamic government and pleasing Christian groups who have railed against the treatment of the southern Sudanese.

Bush has invited Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir and SPLA leader John Garang to Washington to recognise their efforts and offered to start easing US sanctions on Sudan if and when an agreement is reached. – Sapa-AFP.