EU pays for 60% of AU operation and could help further - EU, US push Sudan for UN mandate in Darfur

EU, AU and UN Sudan talks underway in Brussels. Reuters/WP report by Ingrid Melander, Mar 8, 2006 confirms EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and Development Commissioner Louis Michel began a day of meetings with African Union and Sudanese leaders as well senior United Nations and US officials. Excerpt:

Talks kicked off with a working breakfast between Solana and the Sudanese Vice-President Ali Osman Mohamed Taha. "Taha is a key player in the Sudanese government ... We hope he hears the message" on shifting to a UN mandate, an EU official said.

AFRICANS MUST PLAY A KEY ROLE

US Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick, due to join the talks during the day, said he would push for a UN mission. "We believe that, to the maximum extent possible, the AU forces in Darfur should be incorporated into the UN mission in which Africans should play a key leadership role," Zoellick said in a statement before leaving Washington. "No one party can do it alone -- Africans must play a key role, the Government of National Unity in Sudan must assume responsibility, and the UN. must be active as well," he added.

NO EU BOOTS ON GROUND

At the Security Council's request, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has begun planning for a shift from a 7,000-strong AU force to a larger and better equipped UN mission for the troubled area. UN officials have sought NATO and EU support.

The African Union will meet on Friday in Addis Ababa to decide whether to hand its mission to UN command. Sudan has been lobbying AU states to reject this changeover.

The EU was also pressing the Sudanese authorities to inject new urgency into stalled negotiations with Darfur rebels in the Nigerian capital Abuja, the official said.

On the eve of the talks, Solana played down the possibility of European troops getting involved on the ground.

"I'm sure the Africans will prefer to do it themselves," he told a news conference in Innsbruck, Austria, on Tuesday, when asked if he expected European boots on the ground. "The African Union does not want any," Solana said, adding: "If it was the UN., it could be open. But it is very logical that the bulk of the force will be Africans."

He noted the EU already pays for 60 percent of the AU operation and could help further with strategic airlift, logistics and communications.

African Union Commission Chairman Alpha Oumar Konare was also to take part in Wednesday's talks along with Hedi Annabi, U.N. Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations. (Additional reporting by Mark John in Innsbruck)

See Mar 7 2006 EC Press Release - European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, Louis Michel, will call all parties for more progress in the peace talks on Darfur, in a series of high level meetings with the UN, the African Union, the USA and the Sudanese Government, tomorrow in Brussels.