The Sudanese government has agreed to a ceasefire in principle as well as to a new round of peace talks with rebel factions fighting in Sudan's troubled Darfur region, the country's Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

In a statement issued following a meeting between Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and new UN special envoy Jan Eliasson, the ministry added that Khartoum would conduct a new round of peace talks "in any place and at any time."

However, no set date was given and no comment from the rebels was forthcoming.

New UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Thursday that Eliasson had reported to him his assurance of "very strong cooperation" in his talks with Beshir and other Sudanese leaders.

Eliasson "is encouraged by his meetings with President Beshir and other Sudanese leaders. He will continue his consultations and join me at the Addis-Ababa summit," he said.

Ban, who is making bringing about peace in Sudan's Darfur, Somalia and the Middle-East the top priorities during his first official trip abroad late this month, stressed the importance for the UN to put a strong force in Darfur.

The UN Security Council last July urged the Sudanese government to accept a deployment of 20,000 UN peacekeepers in Darfur. Beshir originally rejected deployment of any large-scale UN troops, but later agreed to a three-phase plan for the deployment of a "hybrid" AU-UN peacekeeping force.

(Xinhua News Agency January 12, 2007)