By Opheera McDoom KHARTOUM, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Sudan is happy about the Republican defeat in U.S. midterm elections, but a top presidential advisor said it did not expect congressional Democrats to change American policy toward Khartoum. Relations between the United States and Sudan, which reached a high-watermark with Sudan's signing of a peace deal to end 20 years of civil war in the south and Khartoum's cooperation in fighting terrorism, have been strained by the war in Darfur. Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir has snubbed the last two senior U.S. officials to visit Khartoum, because of U.S. pressure to send a U.N. peacekeeping force to Darfur, which Bashir says is tantamount to recolonisation. Sudan, still under stringent U.S. sanctions, rejects Washington's position that the conflict in its remote western region amounts to genocide and that Khartoum and its proxy militia are responsible. U.S. pressure has propelled Darfur to the top of the world agenda in the past two years. "I am very happy at the defeat of the Republicans and consider this as a complete rejection of the policy of George W. Bush," said Sudan's most powerful presidential advisor Nafie Ali Nafie. Democrats won control of the House of Representatives in midterm elections on Tuesday but control of the Senate is still unclear because of a vote recount in one state. The Democratic wins were seen as a blow to Bush and due in part to a perceived foreign policy failure in critical areas like Iraq, the Middle East and Sudan. "In Sudan we know that American foreign policy does not differ between the Democrats and the Republicans and we do not expect a principle strategic change ... towards Sudan, the Middle East or Palestine," he added in a news conference late on Wednesday night. Sudan has completed three regional peace deals in less than two years to end revolts in its east, west and south, which Washington had previously said would be the key to lifting U.S. sanctions on Africa's largest country. The sanctions prevent credit cards from being used in Sudan, U.S. and even some European companies from working in the country. It also hinders cross-border money transfers and stops Sudan updating industries like its railways. Intense U.S. and British pressure pushed through an unpopular Darfur peace deal which only one of the three rebel negotiating factions signed. The deal has been widely rejected by Darfuris and a new rebel alliance from those who reject the accord has renewed hostilities with Khartoum. With the violence only worsening in Darfur, where already an estimated 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million displaced, the government is amassing troops to stop the new rebels and there are fears the conflict will flare again. Observers say Bashir fears U.N. troops would be used to arrest any officials likely to be indicted by the International Criminal Court investigating alleged war crimes in the region.
