Muscat: American hiker Sarah Shourd can stay in Oman as long as she wishes, according to Yousuf Bin Alawi Bin Abdullah, Oman's Minister of Foreign Affairs.
The senior Omani Minister told CNN that Shourd was in good form and good health in Oman.
"There was nothing to stop her enjoying her life in the US," he said, adding that the American hiker was welcome to stay in Oman as long as she liked.
"There is no pressure on her to leave," he said.
He also said that "indecision and confusion" at the White House at times delayed the talks — which began eight months ago when the US requested assistance to secure the release of Shourd, Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal.
"The White House was confused because it was working on several different tracks at the same time," he said.
Abdullah said that there were delays "due to the White House administration."
But it was Obama who cleared up any problems, Abdullah said.
It was "easy for us to talk directly to the president," he added.
The Omanis also dealt with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, saying that negotiators enjoyed good access to both leaders.
The talks "stalled" after only three months, however, but not before the Omanis helped facilitate a visit from the hikers' families to Tehran in May.
The Minister pointed out that the talks for release of hikers began again only because of concerns about Shourd's health.
Abdullah refrained from saying who paid Shourd's bail. "I don't want to talk about that because it might be of help in the future," he said.
He did say, however, that it was a "legal process" that had some "small" problems that were quickly overcome but led to a short delay in the announced release.
The three American hikers were detained on July 31, 2009.
