Sudan's president congratulates newly independent south

Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir congratulated South Sudan on its independence today and called for good neighborly relations at a ceremony to mark the south's split from Sudan in the north.

Sudan became the first nation to recognize the south yesterday, hours before the birth of the new state, a gesture of goodwill from the north which fought against secessionist forces for decades.

"We congratulate our brothers in the south for the establishment of their new state," said Bashir, addressing thousands of southerners who cheered after he spoke. "We share their joy and celebration," he said. "The will of the people of the south has to be respected."

"Despite our belief that Sudan's unity would have been better ... the gains achieved over the last years from the shared conviction of the feasibility of peace ... must be protected," Bashir said.

The president of Sudan, who lost almost a third of his country's territory and about three quarters of its oil reserves with the split, said gains could be secured with "positive" ties and by maintaining joint economic and trade interests.

He called for support from the international community. "We call on US President Barack Obama to deliver on his commitment he announced to lift the unilateral sanctions on Sudan to open to way to normalize his country's relations with Sudan."

Obama recognized the south in a statement earlier today but stopped short of announcing any immediate changes in longstanding US sanctions on Sudan itself that Khartoum has been hoping will be lifted.

Addressing the crowd, Bashir said: "We have a joint and continuing responsibility to build and strengthen confidence to complete the agreement on outstanding issues."

Northern and southern leaders have still not agreed on a list of issues, most importantly the line of the border, the ownership of the disputed Abyei region and how they will handle oil revenues, the lifeblood of both economies.