* Clinton highlights opportunity of Jan. 9 referendum
* Obama to attend summit meeting on Sudan
* Planning for crucial votes seriously delayed
By Andrew Quinn and Louis Charbonneau
NEW YORK, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told Sudan on Tuesday the door was open to better U.S. ties, seeking to coax Khartoum into cooperating with referendums next year that could split the country.
Clinton told Sudan Vice President Ali Osman Taha that the Jan. 9 plebiscite on the independence of south Sudan could be an opportunity for the northern government in Khartoum, which critics accuse of foot-dragging before the vote, U.S. officials said.
"We know that every day is important and we do have expectations that both north and south need to take very specific steps (to) cooperate," Crowley told reporters after the meeting.
"The secretary made clear that the door to improved relations with the United States ... will open depending on Khartoum's cooperation," Crowley said.
U.S. President Barack Obama is among those scheduled to attend a special summit on Sudan on Friday on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly meeting.
U.N. officials say the summit is intended to send a strong signal to north and south Sudan that the world is committed to helping Africa's largest country ensure that the secession referendum -- which finalizes the 2005 peace deal which ended decades of war between the two sides -- takes place on time.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday named Tanzania's former President Benjamin Mkapa as head of a panel to monitor the plebiscites both in the south and in the disputed oil-rich region of Abyei.
INCENTIVES
There are widespread concerns that Sudan does not have enough time to organize the votes, and Crowley said Clinton pressed Taha to support the country's electoral commission, prepare ballots and register voters -- all essential steps if the plebiscite is to take place.
"Vice President Taha was very direct: there are some things that Sudan wants to get out of its future relations with the United States," Crowley said of the meeting.
"I think there was a very good understanding of the opportunities but also the consequences and the importance of Khartoum demonstrating its commitment" to the 2005 peace agreement, he said.
Clinton's meeting with Taha followed Washington's offer this month of a new set of incentives to Khartoum, which has been under international sanctions since the mid-1990s.
The United States says it will gradually improve both economic and diplomatic relations, with the prospect of full normalization if Khartoum allows the vote to take place, fully implements the 2005 peace deal and resolves outstanding issues in the western region of Darfur.
Rights groups have criticized the United States for not being tough enough on the Khartoum government, and the new U.S. policy does not publicly spell out specific consequences that may ensue if it obstructs or delays the vote.
"I think that our focus right now is to demonstrate to Khartoum that ... if you work constructively in the post-referendum period, then there are clear opportunities available to you," Crowley said.
Analysts fear any delay, or messy outcome to the vote, could spark a new civil war, with dire consequences for the region.
Friday's summit meeting is expected to again urge the two sides to ensure a credible vote, and will also likely express concern at continued violence in Darfur, where the United Nations estimates as many as 300,000 people have died since 2003 when rebels rose up against Khartoum.
The Khartoum government puts the Darfur death toll at 10,000.
Sudan has said it hopes to begin registering voters for the referendum on southern secession next month, although U.N. officials say privately that they think that registration is unlikely to commence before November.
They also say that there are serious delays in preparing a separate referendum on whether the disputed oil-rich region of Abyei should remain in the north or become part of south Sudan. The Abyei referendum commission has yet to be named. (Additional reporting by Andrew Heavens in Khartoum; editing by Mohammad Zargham)
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