“We have the visa application right now and would condemn any potential travel by him,” Harf told reporters. “We would say that before presenting himself to U.N. headquarters, President Bashir should present himself to the ICC in The Hague to answer for the crimes of which he’s been accused.”

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The request puts the State Department in a tough spot as it seeks to help resolve border skirmishes between Sudan and South Sudan, a country whose creation President Obama helped bring into being in 2011. Denying Bashir a visa could embarrass the Sudanese president and hurt the administration’s mediation efforts.