President Clinton plans to announce, possibly today, that the United States will recognize the government of Angola after refusing to do so for more than 15 years, U.S. officials said.
Clinton might make the announcement after a meeting with South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu today at the White House, said the officials.The decision to recognize the formerly Marxist government came after President Jose Eduardo dos Santos held elections in his African nation last year and joined recent negotiations to end the civil war with the UNITA rebels.
The United States had supported UNITA throughout the 1980s with weapons and money against the Soviet-backed government in Luanda. But it stopped its support, as did the Soviets, in advance of a May 1991 peace agreement to end the civil war that broke out in 1975.
Elections were held six months ago, but UNITA refused to accept the outcome.