Joint mediator hold talks with Libyan official on Darfur peace

November 1, 2008 (KHARTOUM) — Libyan African Union affairs secretary Abdel-Salam Al-Tiriki met today with the Joint Chief Mediator for Darfur Dijbril Bassolé who arrived yesterday in the Libyan capital from Qatar.

Libya tried in October last year to broker an initiative to end Darfur conflict. However it failed to convince the rebel groups to take part in the talks, because of its relations with Khartoum but also because of the rebel rejection for the former mediators.

During his meeting with Al-Tiriki, Bassolé expressed full readiness to cooperate with Libya due to its important role in promoting security, peace and stability in Sudan and the region as a whole.

According to the Sudanese News Agency, Bassolé also hailed the Libyan efforts to mend the bilateral relations between Sudan and Chad.

He stressed that good relations between the two neighbouring countries is needed for a successful mediation between the parties in Darfur conflict.

Bassolé arrived to Tripoli from Doha where he held talks with the Qatari officials on their efforts to sponsor the peace talks. As chief mediator Bassolé needs to coordinate with the Qatari partners who seem interested by the preliminary consultations and preparations for the talks.

(ST)