China, Britain agree on multi-party negotiations for peace in Darfur

BEIJING, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- China and Britain agreed here Friday that all parties involved in the Darfur issue should negotiate to reach a comprehensive peace accord on a ceasefire.

The agreement was made during Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's meeting with visiting British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

They agreed that the role of the consultation mechanism, involving the United Nations (UN), the African Union (AU) and the Sudanese government as the main channel for solving the Darfur issue, should continue to promote UN-AU hybrid actions and the political progress in Darfur.

Wen called for concerted efforts from the international community to improve the humanitarian and security situation in Darfur and support the economic reconstruction and development of the region.

He said close communication and contact would be kept between special envoys of China and Britain to push for a proper settlement at an early date and hoped that the south and north sides of Sudan would implement the comprehensive peace accord in a ractical manner.

Brown said that as permanent members of the UN Security Council, Britain and China had shared responsibilities on the Darfur issue and shared interests in Africa to push for the deployment of AU forces in Darfur and to bring about successful ceasefire talks.