UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan welcomed on Wednesday Sudan's readiness to implement the three-phase UN peace plan for Darfur including deployment of a joint UN-AU force there.

    Annan told reporters at the UN Headquarters in New York following a closed-door meeting of the Security Council that President Omar el-Bashir of Sudan has accepted the three-phased approach as a package.

    "We will have to move ahead and implement it, push it and test it," the outgoing UN chief said, adding that council members are encouraged by the positive tone of Sudan's response.

    He noted that the United Nations is in the process of carrying out the first phase, which involves deploying UN police advisers and military officers to Darfur.

    "We are going to move very quickly on that," Annan said, calling this "a way of testing the Government's willingness to cooperate."

    The secretary-general also said the Organization would work expeditiously with the Chairman of the AU to name a joint special representative and the commander "who hopefully will bring some fresh ideas" to the operation.

    According to the package, the overall aim is to deploy a hybrid UN-AU peacekeeping force in Darfur, made up of 17,000 troops and 3,000 police officers, compared to the current strength of just 7,000 of AU force in Darfur to monitor an area roughly the size of France.