According to the latest news from the Sovereignty Council, Sudan’s leader, General Abdel Fattah Burhan, received the Norwegian Ambassador to Sudan, Endre Stiansen, at his office in Port Sudan in the east of the country. During the meeting, Burhan expressed Sudan’s willingness to establish a dialogue with the United States (US). However, he stressed that there are some “red lines” on issues such as the implementation of the Jeddah Declaration and the appointment of observers for the talks.
Norwegian Ambassador Stiansen stated that his country wants to play a mediating role in bringing the views of the Sudanese and US governments closer together. In this context, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on July 23 that he was invited to the ceasefire negotiations for the Sudanese army and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to be held in Switzerland on August 14. Blinken emphasized the importance of the Jeddah negotiation process and emphasized that this process should be continued.
Tom Perriello, the US Special Representative for Sudan, announced that an international opening session was held yesterday with the participation of representatives from Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the African Union and the United Nations (UN) . While the NGO delegation came to Geneva to participate in these talks, the Sudanese army decided not to participate in the talks. The Sudanese government objected to the Geneva talks on the grounds that there was no need for a new platform and that the UAE did not want to participate in these talks as an observer.
The Sudanese government said the agreements reached last year in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, must be adhered to, and argued that the US “is not committed to forcing the rebel militias (NAF) to implement the Jeddah Declaration.”
The Importance of the Jeddah Declaration
The Jeddah Declaration was signed on May 11, 2023, under the mediation of Saudi Arabia, with the aim of ending the conflict between the army and the NGO in Sudan. As a result of these talks led by the US and Saudi Arabia, the declaration included commitments that the Sudanese army and the NGO would refrain from any attacks that would harm civilians and that the interests of the Sudanese people were a priority for both parties.
However, the Sudanese army withdrew from the talks in Jeddah in July, citing repeated violations by the NGO, which it said had failed to evacuate civilian areas and public facilities in the capital, Khartoum, a development that threatens political stability in the region.
