US wants France playing bigger role in Darfur peacekeeping

May 9, 2007 (WASHINGTON) — United Sates wants the new elected French president to play an important role in Darfur peacekeeping mission, particularly in the no-fly zone, the state department said.

The U.S. would like France to take a bigger role in pushing for peacekeeping troops in Sudan to end the violence and refugee crisis in the Darfur region, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters in Washington on May 7.

One idea that would require French help is creating a “no- fly” zone to protect Darfur, should the “international system” decide to take that step, McCormack said.

French President-elect Nicolas Sarkozy’s well-publicized admiration for the U.S. creates an atmosphere for improved relations after years of friction, according to political analysts and former diplomats.

Elizabeth Jones, former assistant secretary of state for Europe, now an executive vice president of APCO Worldwide, a Washington-based consulting firm, told Bloomberg that better U.S.-French relations at NATO headquarters may translate into an effective collaboration to address the Darfur crisis.

“If you’re in a situation in which the U.S. and France have a more collaborative relationship, then you get a lot more done,” she said.

(ST)