Failure of consultations between Sudan and the United States on arrangements for the Geneva talks

Last Friday, the Sudanese Sovereignty Council announced that it would send a delegation to Jeddah to consult with the US government regarding its invitation to attend the Geneva negotiations with the Rapid Support Forces.

The head of the government delegation, Minister of Minerals, Mohammed Bashir Abu Namu, confirmed on his Facebook page that the consultations ended without reaching an agreement on the government’s participation in the negotiations scheduled to be held in Geneva.

Abu Namu explained that they will submit a recommendation not to participate to Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, Chairman of the Sovereignty Council and Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Army, noting that the American side refuses to consider the negotiating delegation to Geneva as a representative of the Sudanese government with all its components and insists that it represents the army only.

Sources also indicated that US officials did not provide the required response to the demands of the government delegation, which included implementing the Jeddah Agreement signed on May 11, 2023, in addition to refusing to represent non-military personnel in the proposed talks with the Rapid Support Forces.

In a related context, a diplomatic official confirmed that the government is not optimistic about the talks, but it is exploring the path and has agreed to initial consultations with the US government. The official expected that there would be communication at a higher level between the army leadership and the US administration during the next two days to bridge the gaps that appeared during the recent consultations in Jeddah.

For its part, the Rapid Support Forces officially informed the US State Department last week of the participation of its previous negotiating delegation in the Jeddah talks without change.

The US State Department had extended an invitation to the army and the Rapid Support Forces for new negotiations on August 14 in Switzerland, with Saudi Arabia participating and under the supervision of the United Nations, the African Union, the Emirates and Egypt.

It is noteworthy that the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs had submitted, in late July, a package of new conditions to its American counterpart regarding the Geneva talks, including the necessity of prior consultation regarding the agenda and negotiating parties.

Sudan is witnessing a civil war between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces over power-sharing, which has caused thousands of casualties, displaced hundreds of thousands of Sudanese, and left behind a lot of destruction.

Source: Sudan Tribune