Sudan's government has summoned the top U.S. diplomat in Khartoum to warn him against interfering in Sudanese affairs.

Sudanese officials say they summoned U.S. Charge D'Affaires Alberto Fernandez Saturday in response to comments he made in a media interview last week.

Fernandez told the Reuters news agency that Sudan's inability to implement a north-south peace deal and fulfill other commitments had created a climate of distrust that would hamper peace talks in the troubled Darfur region.

Sudan's foreign ministry condemned the U.S. diplomat's comments as flagrant intervention in Sudan's domestic affairs.

Khartoum also dismissed U.S. criticism of its appointment of suspected Darfur militia leader Musa Hilal to a senior government post. The Sudanese government says it told Fernandez it has the right to appoint anyone it wants to any position.

Fernandez later told a Sudanese newspaper al-Sudani that Khartoum should listen to constructive criticism to reach a solution to its problems.

Washington imposed financial sanctions on Sudan in 1997 and has a tense relationship with Khartoum. The United States calls the five-year old conflict in Darfur a genocide, a term Sudan rejects.

Rights groups say Hilal helped to train Janjaweed militiamen blamed for killing civilians and burning down villages in Darfur. Hilal denies the allegations.

Both the United States and the U.N. Security Council imposed financial sanctions against Hilal in 2006.

Some information for this report was provided by Reuters.