Egypt is removing its unwritten veto on Qatari mediation in Darfur, but this does not mean it is stepping out of the Sudan issue, Dina Ezzat reports Egypt has promised the US it will end its opposition to a Qatari attempt to mediate a peace deal between Khartoum and Darfur rebels, a US diplomatic source told Al-Ahram Weekly Sunday. Egyptian diplomats confirmed the move, "if this would help bring peace to Sudan". The Egyptian nod was offered to the US during a meeting hosted in Cairo on Sunday. Along with General Intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman, Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul- Gheit and US Envoy to Sudan Scott Gration, the meeting was also attended by Ghazi Salaheddin, special advisor to Sudan's president, and Moussa Koussa, special advisor to the Libyan leader on Sudan. The meeting -- described by Egyptian, Sudanese and American diplomats as constructive and businesslike -- came in the wake of a visit by Gration to Sudan and Ethiopia where he met with the leaders of four Darfur rebel groups. They said it offered a chance for a wide exchange of views on peace across Sudan, especially in Darfur. Gration briefed participants about "the progress" he is making in getting the conflicting Darfur rebels to agree on a unified agenda of demands to be presented to Khartoum on wealth and power sharing. According to one source close to the meeting, Gration asked participants to support this progress, "basically by avoiding playing the rebel groups against one another". It was agreed during the meeting that Libya would host a meeting for some of the rebel groups to help draft a unified Darfur rebels agenda, the same source said. On Tuesday, the meeting took place in Libya. It was also agreed during the Cairo meeting on Sunday that, "all rebel groups who obstruct a collective peace deal will be excluded from negotiations and abandoned by countries that host and support them." Consequently, the source added, Gration asked the French government that is hosting Abdel-Wahid Nour -- the defiant Darfur rebel leader -- to pressure him to join the game or consider himself out. Nour has declined to join any peace negotiations prior to securing demands related to security arrangements on the ground in Darfur and the payment of damages by the Sudanese government to his followers. Khartoum has declined to accommodate these demands. Meanwhile, Arab and US sources told the Weekly that Doha is planning to host the next round of its Darfur peace talks late next month or in early October. Prior to this tentative meeting, the Arab League will hold a ministerial committee on Darfur -- bringing together Egypt and Qatar, among other Arab countries -- during the first week of September. Another meeting on Darfur will be hosted by the UN and African Union in New York during the third week of September, on the fringe of the UN General Assembly. According to press statements made by Gration Sunday in Cairo, following talks with Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa, all preparatory meetings should help pave the way for the signing of a peace deal in Doha. "Doha is the place that the AU and the UN will conduct the talks that will lead to the final agreement," Gration said. Moussa supported the commitment of Gration on Darfur. 'The light at the end of the tunnel is starting to appear," he said. Egyptian diplomats that follow developments in Darfur are not as certain that the enthusiasm of Gration, or the end of Cairo's opposition to Qatari mediation, will necessarily lead to lasting peace in Darfur. According to one diplomat, "some of the rebel leaders are just serving their own agenda and it is hard to commit them to come round to a peace agreement." He added: "It is not easy to exclude leaders who do not agree to the proposed peace plan, simply because those leaders have supporters, armed supporters, on the ground." According to the same diplomat, "Egypt is very keen to see peace come to Darfur. And we will be talking with those leaders that we have access to in order to encourage them to join other rebel groups in formulating a consensual Darfurian strategy." He said that some rebel leaders are expected in Cairo during the coming month. Meanwhile, Cairo has pressed Gration to support its diplomatic and developmental efforts aimed at containing tensions between the north and south of Sudan. "We told him that we know that the [stipulations of the 2005 peace agreement between the north and south] are not fully implemented by either side, and that we are working with both parties, asking them to show more commitment to the requirements of peace," the Egyptian diplomat said. He added that Gration "is showing cooperation" on this front. According to the 2005 peace agreement that ended close to two decades of civil war between Khartoum and its armed southern opposition, a referendum should be held in 2011 to decide whether Sudan will remain a unitary state or will voluntarily divide into two states. Egypt is aware that the chances are high that Sudan will choose to divide. However, it is hoping that it can promote the cause of unity. By helping Gration on Darfur, Cairo is hopeful for his support on the north-south issue. Gration was in Khartoum and Juba, capital of Southern Sudan, during his visit last week for talks with leaders from both sides focussed on better implementing the 2005 peace deal.
