By Tom Evans; Sr. Writer, AMANPOUR.

Sudan will never comply with a warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) to hand over President Omar al-Bashir to face charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, Sudan's ambassador to the United Nations told CNN's Christiane Amanpour on Tuesday.

"That would never happen," Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem Mohamad told Amanpour in a program to be aired Wednesday. "And the United States itself is not a member of the ICC. Let the government of the U.S. join the ICC."

Mohamad strongly defended al-Bashir - the first sitting head of state to be indicted by the ICC - saying he is one of the best leaders in Africa. "He put an end to the longest civil war in Africa. The Security Council of the U.N. itself recognized and commended our president. He cannot overnight be a criminal, a war criminal."

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