Sudan's ruling National Congress has been holding rapprochement talks with the breakaway Popular Congress party of jailed leader Hassan Turabi, the opposition group said yesterday. Popular Congress number two Abdullah Hassan Ahmed told AFP he had met his counterpart from the ruling party, Ibrahim Ahmed Omar, on Wednesday and they had agreed to hold further talks. The meeting marked a sharp change in policy toward the Islamists by the increasingly isolated military-backed government in Khartoum, which last year rounded up much of the Popular Congress leadership on charges of taking part in an alleged coup. "Yes, I agree it could be a thaw," said Ahmed, who held a number of Cabinet posts, including finance minister, before the split between Turabi and President Omar Bashir in 1999.Ahmed told AFP the overture had come from the ruling party "apparently as part of a bid by the National Congress to consult political forces on current issues." He said the talks had focused on implementation of a landmark peace agreement which the government signed with the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement in January, ending two decades of civil war with the mainly Christian or animist south. He said he voiced "concern about the delay in implementing the agreement" which also provides for a new power-sharing government in Khartoum, involving not only the southern rebels but also other opposition groups. "But we are now optimistic after the meeting with Omar and another meeting on Wednesday with the visiting SPLM delegation, who said they were serious about implementation of the agreement," he said.