Levi, 03/10/2006 (Agence Europe) - Is there a faint gleam of hope for Darfur? The dramatic humanitarian situation there has compelled the United Nations to adopt Resolution 1701 providing for transfer from the African Union mission in Darfur (AMIS) to the UN. Khartoum has so far refused this possibility, forcing the AU to prolong its mission until 31 December 2006. It would appear, however, from what the EU High Representative for CFSP, Javier Solana, says, that the regime under Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir has recently become more compliant. “President Bashir is beginning to accept something like the African Union Plus”, Solana told the press on 2 October, adding that that something could perhaps be the United Nations force. The European contribution to a possible UN mission in Darfur will, however, be the same as its contribution to the AU mission, namely financial and logistic support to troops (especially airlift). Also, even in the case of the UN mission, the corps making up such a mission will be essentially African, Solana pointed out. (dt)