US urges Sudan to carry out North-South peace deal

WASHINGTON, June 23 (Reuters) - The United States urged Sudan's north and south on Tuesday to carry out a 2005 peace deal that ended their two-decade civil war, calling the stakes "enormous" and pledging the international community's support.

Disagreements over how to implement the deal could drag the African oil exporter back into conflict if not settled ahead of a ruling on a disputed oil region in July, elections in 2010 and a referendum on southern secession the following year.

"We are facing some very important milestones in the near future ... they will set the foundation, for better or for worse, of the very future of Sudan," U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Jim Steinberg said at a U.S.-organized meeting on Sudan's Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).

"The stakes are enormous,' he added.

The CPA set an interim period, with a coalition government between the Muslim north and mostly Christian south and sharing of oil wealth. It ends in 18 months with the southern referendum, and analysts say the government is unprepared.

A key sticking point is control of the oil-producing Abyei region in central Sudan. The north and south claim parts of it and their troops have clashed there since the 2005 deal, which ended a two-decade civil war that killed two million people.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague is due to rule on the dispute in July amid a widespread belief that it will be extremely difficult to find a solution satisfactory to both sides.

Representatives from about 20 countries attended the meeting in Washington, which the U.S. special envoy for Sudan, Gen. Scott Gration, said was designed to "rekindle" world interest in helping ensure the peace deal is carried through.

A return to civil war in Sudan would have a disastrous effect on the country, its oil industry -- where Total of France (TOTF.PA: Quote, Profile, Research), CNPC of China, Petronas of Malaysia and other major firms are active -- and surrounding states.

The war was marked by sharp differences in ideology, ethnicity and religion, dwarfing the more prominent Darfur conflict in terms of bloodshed and regional impact. Some four million people fled their homes as a result. (Editing by Paul Simao)