U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was one of the first to jump on board the optimistic side, welcoming a letter from Khartoum saying the government of Sudan accepts the entire "heavy support package" of troops, police officers, civilian staff and equipment the United Nations will provide to the African Union peacekeeping mission.

Ban was "encouraged by this development and intends to move expeditiously with the deployment," said a statement issued by his spokeswoman in New York Monday. The statement said Ban will work closely with the African Union and the government to implement the deployment, which is the second phase of a three-step plan that is supposed to culminate in a hybrid U.N.-AU peacekeeping force of approximately 17,000 troops and 3,000 police officers across Darfur.

He expects Sudan "to urgently provide the land and other facilities necessary for the deployment of the heavy support package, including permission to explore for water and meet all operational requirements," the statement added.

Aside from the troops, police officers and civilian staff, the heavy support package includes helicopter gun ships as well as logistical support to the overstretched African Union Mission in Sudan.

The spokeswoman, Michele Montas, told reporters the attack helicopters had been the outstanding component in a heavy support package until the acceptance letter arrived Monday.

In the statement, Ban called on donors and U.N. member states providing troops or police to contribute generously and as soon as possible, emphasizing the world organization will also intensify its efforts to implement recent agreements designed to make the political process in Darfur more inclusive.

In its own statement, the U.N. Security Council also welcomed the Sudanese decision, adding it would write to Ban to allow him to request funding from the General Assembly for the package. The statement, read out by Ambassador Karen Pierce of Britain, which holds the rotating council presidency this month, added the Sudanese national unity government must now facilitate the package's immediate deployment.

Statements from the council president and Ban's spokeswoman emphasized their support for current international efforts, including by way of United Nations and African Union envoys, to find a political solution to the Darfur conflict.

Ban's special envoy for Darfur Jan Eliasson said that he and his AU counterpart, Salim Ahmed Salim, would now step up efforts to find a non-military solution, adding the presence of a strong peacekeeping force was essential to stabilizing the region.

The secretary-general held talks with AU Chairman Alpha Oumar Konare on the latest political, humanitarian and security developments in Darfur before they jointly met council members for informal discussions. They plan for Ban and Konare to meet again Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters after the council meeting, Ban thanked the efforts of many world leaders, including the leaders of China, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the United States as well as Konare and the Arab League.

"This is a very positive sign," he said of the Sudanese acceptance letter. "The people in Darfur have suffered too much and too long."

But acting U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Alejandro Wolff didn't share the optimism. "This has been going on for far too long," said Washington's envoy of the past on-again, off-again pledges of acceptance from Khartoum. "We understand that the Sudanese authorities have agreed to the heavy support package. We will wait and see if that's the case and how we can implement it."

Added Wolff, "We will see when it happens, if it happens."

Undersecretary-general for peacekeeping affairs Jean-Marie Guehenno said the heavy support package "is not the robust force that Darfur needs. It's a support package to lay the ground for a future robust force. It's a transition to a hybrid mission, that's how we see it."

More than 200,000 people have been killed and 2 million others displaced from their homes in the vast region in western Sudan since 2003, when government forces and allied Janjaweed militias began fighting with rebel groups who had taken up arms, largely in protest at the distribution of resources.

The clashes have led to the destruction of entire villages, and fears are increasing the conflict might also engulf neighboring eastern Chad and the Central African Republic.

The United Nations already is providing a "light support package" to AMIS which includes police advisers, civilian staff, technical support and other resources.

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