At EU-hosted talks in Khartoum, Western powers have been seeking to persuade Sudan to agree to a greater African Union peacekeeping presence in the beleaguered Darfur region.
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and Development Commissioner Louis Michel began a day of meetings with African Union and Sudanese leaders as well as senior United Nations and US officials.
Pressure is mounting for greater Western involvement to end violence and a humanitarian crisis in Darfur.
Tens of thousands of people have been killed in Darfur in western Sudan, and continued rape, killing and looting have driven an estimated two million people from their homes.
