Brown pledge on Darfur peace trip

Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy said they are looking for agreement on a UN resolution for a hybrid African Union-United Nations force in Darfur by the end of July, with deployment starting in September or October.

They suggested they might visit Darfur themselves.

The meeting at the Elysee Palace was their first since Sarkozy took office in May and Brown in June.

Their governments see the leadership change in both countries as a chance for a new dynamic in relations.

The men's predecessors, Tony Blair and Jacques Chirac, had a sometimes testy relationship, sparring over issues such as the Iraq war and EU farm subsidies.

"On all the subjects we talked about, Gordon Brown and I have the common will to work together, to affirm the ties between Britain and France, and to take initiatives together," Sarkozy said.

They have decided to meet regularly, including before European summits, to harmonise their positions, and Sarkozy said they agreed to speak by phone almost every week.

Sarkozy and Brown paid special attention to Darfur, offering a four-point plan with diplomatic, political and financial components. The two leaders said they were prepared to travel to Darfur together to push for peace.

"People are dying and people are suffering. It must stop," Sarkozy said, calling Darfur a "catastrophe" while Brown named it a "humanitarian disaster."