Qatar proposed as host to international summit on Darfur

September 4 (DAMASCUS) — The leaders of four countries France, Syria, Qatar and Turkey backed today calls to hold an international conference on Sudan’s troubled region of Darfur. Also, it was proposed to convene this meeting in Qatar.

Yesterday the Egyptian foreign minister renewed a call to convene an international conference under the sponsorship of the U.N. and the African Union to address Darfur crisis. Ahmed Abul Gheit made this appeal after a meeting with Djibril Bassole, the new Darfur peace mediator.

French President, and head of the EU, Nicolas Sarkozy, discussed in Damascus on Thursday the situation in Darfur with Syrian President Bashar Assad, Qatari Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The four head of states and prime minister also in a joint press conference reaffirmed their hope to see a quick solution of Darfur crisis soon. They also stressed on the importance of the EU role in the success of the ongoing effort to end the conflict.

The Syrian President suggested to hold Darfur summit in the Qatari capital Doha, where a conference on Lebanon’s crisis was convened two months ago.

He added that the conference should bring together all parties involved in the Darfur conflict.

Qatar had expressed many times in the past its interest to play a role in the settlement of Darfur crisis. In 2006, at the time when Khartoum had rejected the deployment of the UN troops in Darfur, Doha tied to mediate between Khartoum and Washington ease tension provoked by the issue and to bridge differences.

At the opposite of Libya which had failed to bring the different rebel groups to the peace talks held in Sirte last October, Qatar seems acceptable by the different parties in the conflict.

During his talks with the Egyptian foreign minister in Cairo yesterday, the Joint Darfur mediator insisted that such a conference should be held under the sponsorship of the United Nations and the African Union

(ST)