After intensive talks between the Sudanese government and a visiting UN Security Council delegation on Tuesday, a compromise was reached between the two sides to let in a joint UN-AU assessment team on Friday.

A joint assessment team of the United Nations and the African Union (AU) is to arrive in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on Friday to hold consultations with the Sudanese government on UN role in Sudan's troubled western Darfur region, a Sudanese official announced on Tuesday.

Jamal Mohammed Ibrahim, spokesman of the Sudanese Foreign Ministry, made the announcement following a meeting between the ministry and the UN delegation which arrived in Khartoum Monday evening.

The delegation comprising representatives of all the 15 member states of the UN Security Council held talks with President Omer al-Bashir and Foreign Minister Lam Akol and other senior officials. The joint UN-AU assessment team was one of the thorny problems tackled in the talks.

A UN envoy who visited Khartoum last month had insisted that the team would focus their mission in Sudan on a transition of the AU peacekeeping work in Darfur to the UN.

The Sudanese government, however, had refused any military role of the UN in Darfur, suggesting instead that the world body could concentrate its interference in Darfur on the humanitarian assistance.

On May 25, the Sudanese government agreed to led in a joint UN- AU team following a meeting between Sudanese President Omer al- Bashir and UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi.

The joint assessment team is demanded by a UN Security Council resolution adopted on May 16, which calls for a quick deployment of UN peacekeepers in Darfur.

Sudanese officials as well as local media had warned that a deployment of the UN peacekeepers including soldiers from the United States and other western countries without Sudanese approval would change Darfur into a hotbed for the terrorism.

Head of the UN Security Council delegation Emyr Jones Parry, who is also British ambassador to UN, said at a press conference Tuesday that "any international operation will not be carried out unless it is approved by the present government in Sudan."

Reiterating the Security Council's respect for Sudan's sovereignty and independence, the British diplomat said that what was needed at the present was to strengthen the African Union (AU) Mission in Darfur.

The remarks apparently echoed a similar demand of the Sudanese government, which had suggested that the failure of the international donors to live up to their promises of finalizing the AU peacekeeping mission was the main reason behind the poor conducts of the AU forces in Darfur.

According to the agreement reached between the UN Security Council delegation and the Sudanese government, the assessment team will study ways of enhancing the AU role at the first stage and the requirements of transferring the AU peacekeeping mission to the UN at the second stage.

As receiving the delegation, Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir underlined his country's keenness to cooperate with UN to enhance the peace process in the southern Sudan and the Darfur region.

The president also reiterated the government's commitment to implementing the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed in January 2005 to end the north-south civil war, and the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) inked with a main Darfur rebel faction on May 5.

Chinese Permanent Representative to UN Wang Guangya expressed the Security Council's appreciation for the Sudanese government's efforts to end the conflicts in southern Sudan and Darfur region.

"We appreciate the Sudanese government's role in realizing the peace in the south and Darfur and we call on those refusing the Darfur Peace Agreement to join it," Wang said.

He noted that the Security Council was keen to have a positive relationship with the Sudanese government and this visit indicated the council's concern to hear the Sudanese government's view points.

The UN Security Council delegation will head for Addis Ababa on Wednesday for holding talks with AU officials on the Darfur issue.

They will also pay a visit to southern Sudan on Thursday and to Darfur on Friday in order to inspect the situations on the ground.

Source: Xinhua