AFP: A Sudanese delegation arrived in Saudi Arabia on Friday for talks with US mediators on the terms of the government’s participation in ceasefire negotiations in Geneva next week, Sudanese authorities and a diplomat said.
The US last month called on Sudan’s warring parties to hold ceasefire talks, more than a year after fighting broke out between the regular army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The Sudanese government said in a statement: “The government decided to send a delegation headed by the Minister of Minerals, Mohamed Bashir Abu Nomu, to discuss the US call for negotiations scheduled for 14 August.”
A Sudanese diplomat based in Saudi Arabia told AFP that the delegation arrived in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah “to discuss the government’s conditions with US officials to participate in the Geneva talks”.
The RSF was quick to accept the US invitation. The pro-army foreign ministry said negotiations should be preceded by “further discussions”.
The Sudanese army chief of staff, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, said in late July that any peace initiative “must recognize, invite and consult with the Sudanese state,” referring to his government.
The Geneva talks will be co-hosted by Saudi Arabia, with the African Union, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and the United Nations as observers, Washington said.
“This is not a UN initiative, but of course we welcome all initiatives that can help resolve the crisis in Sudan,” said Alessandra Vellucci, a UN spokesperson in Geneva.
The war that has been ongoing since April 2023 between Burhan’s forces and forces loyal to commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced millions and caused a horrific humanitarian crisis and warnings of famine.
Previous negotiations in Jeddah had failed to put an end to the devastating fighting.
