Bush calls Mubarak on regional situation

President of the United States George W. Bush called Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Wednesday to talk about the latest development in the Mideast and means of boosting bilateral cooperation, the official MENA news agency reported.

The two leaders took up the situation in the Sudanese western region of Darfur, during which Bush said his country is going to give more pressure on the Sudanese government over the Darfur issue.

Mubarak, for his part, insisted that the issue of deploying UN forces to Darfur which was set out in the UN Security Council Resolution 1706 should be solved through dialogue between Khartoum and the international community, a senior presidential official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Mubarak noted that sending international forces to Darfur without the approval of the Sudanese government would be more dangerous and would not help improve the security situation there, the official said.

Meanwhile, the two leaders also discussed the latest development in the Palestinian territories, while Mubarak said that Egypt would continue to push the two sides of Israel and Palestinians to resume the peace process.

The UN Security Council adopted resolution 1706 on Aug. 31 calling for the deployment of more than 20,000 international peacekeepers to replace the 7,800 African Union forces in Darfur.

But the Sudanese government has rejected the mission transfer, saying it was a violation of Sudan's sovereignty and an effort by the West to re-colonize the African oil producing country.

Egypt has been firmly supporting Sudan's stance on the deployment of UN forces, insisting that any deployment should first get approval from the Sudanese government.

Source: Xinhua