Western leaders have hailed as a "breakthrough" a deal brokered with Sudan by outgoing UN chief Kofi Annan.
The news has pleased international leaders, although significant differences remain over the shape of a peacekeeping force.Sudan has said it welcomes the United Nations' support for the African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur but rejects suggestions that the UN will take command.
Sudan has consistently rejected plans to entirely replace the AU force with a larger, stronger UN mission.
News emerged on Thursday, when UN chief Kofi Annan said a compromise had been reached for a planned hybrid UN-AU force to break the deadlock over the Darfur mission.
The news has been welcomed but also a certain amount of scepticism remains following a demoralising series of negotiations, which has not been able to stem the killing and violence.
The violence has resulted in more than 200,000 deaths over the three years of conflict in the region. In addition, approximately three million others have been forced to flee their homes.
President Omar al-Bashir told state TV: "The government of Sudan welcomes all financial, material, logistic or technical assistance from the UN in order to strengthen the AU mission in Darfur."
His Foreign Minister Lam Akol specified that "there should be no talk about a mixed force".
Alarmingly violence had intensified over the past months despite a peace deal struck in May between the government and one of the Darfur rebel groups.
Meanwhile, Sudanese Defence Minister Abdel Rahim Mohamed Hussein said Darfur would become an "invaders' graveyard" if a UN peacekeeping force was sent there.
