Washington D.C. — The Quartet countries (USA, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates) held a meeting on Friday in Washington D.C., to advance Sudan’s peace and achieve an urgent humanitarian truce. The meeting aimed “to strengthen collective efforts to achieve peace and stability in Sudan, including efforts to secure an urgent humanitarian truce, achieve a permanent ceasefire, halt external support, and advance the transition to civilian rule,” said Massad Boulos, adviser to the US president for Africa and the Middle East.
The talks, whose primary aim is to establish a three-month ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid to reach millions of Sudanese civilians stricken by displacement and famine in the wake of the war, come amid reports of escalating violence in Darfur. As reported by Radio Dabanga today, the paramilitary RSF have announced that after capturing the headquarters of the Sixth Infantry Division, one of the Sudanese Armed Forces’ (SAF) key bases in western Sudan, they claim to have taken full control of El Fasher, capital of North Darfur, on Sunday.
During the meeting, Quartet members reaffirmed their commitment to the September 12 Ministerial Statement and agreed to establish a Joint Operational Committee to enhance coordination on urgent priorities, he said. “The US president wants peace and we are united in our commitment to ending the suffering of the Sudanese people,” he said.
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Sudanese Foreign Minister, Ambassador Mohieddin Salem Ahmed, is in the US capital with a delegation of military personnel. The Sudanese Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the minister’s visit to the United States comes in the context of ongoing efforts to develop relations between Khartoum and Washington, and to continue dialogue on issues of common interest, including supporting peace in Sudan, strengthening economic and humanitarian cooperation, and discussing opportunities to rebuild relations on the basis of mutual respect and common interests.
The Sudanese delegation includes the director of military intelligence and the special secretary to the head of the Sovereignty Council, Amr Abu Obeida, concluded a first round of talks with representatives of the US State Department on the army’s vision to stop the war, as well as discussing the proposals contained in a roadmap presented by the Quartet, which includes a humanitarian truce and a three-month ceasefire, to allow aid to reach civilians.
Preliminary talks
Indirect preliminary talks between the SAF and the RSF began in Washington D.C. last week, marking a significant step towards formal ceasefire negotiations and efforts to stabilise the country after more than a year and a half of war.
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A US State Department official confirmed that the two-day meetings in Washington are part of ongoing preparations for official peace talks aimed at arranging both military and political frameworks for Sudan’s post-war transition.
Journalist Shawgi Abdelazim told Radio Dabanga that the Washington meetings represent “an advanced step in the negotiation process,” building on earlier high-level efforts, including a meeting between US President Donald Trump’s adviser for Arab and African Affairs, Massad Boulos, and SAF leader Lt Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan in Switzerland earlier this year.
Abdelazim explained that the current talks are indirect, with each delegation meeting separately with US officials under the supervision of the US Deputy Secretary of State. “The purpose of this format is to bridge the gap between the two sides before they sit together for direct negotiations,” he said.
The renewed diplomatic momentum followed the Quartet’s meeting on the sidelines of the UN’s 80th session of the General Assembly in New York on September 24, attended by the foreign ministers of the four member countries and the US presidential advisor Boulos.
