"I shall continue to insist that our sovereign countries work to achieve the United States of Africa," he said in his inaugural speech. But he admitted that African leaders were "not near to a settlement" on the issue. He told fellow summit leaders that his unity project would be approved at the next meeting in July unless there was a majority against it, reports the BBC's Elizabeth Blunt from Addis Ababa. The AU normally relies on consensus in reaching decisions, but Col Gaddafi introduced what he described as the Islamic concept that "silence is approval," she said. Under this principle, at least two-thirds of AU leaders would have to actively oppose Col Gaddafi's proposals, rather than simply ignoring his ideas, she added.