US pressuring Sudan to join Geneva talks, sets weekend deadline
4 Min Read
Sudan is opposed to where the US is taking the Geneva talks, insisting on stopping the fighting instead of finding a political solution.
-
People gather to collect water in Khartoum, Sudan, on May 28, 2023, during a weeklong truce, brokered by the US and the Saudis (AP)
Diplomatic sources in Geneva have revealed that the United States is exerting significant pressure on the Sudanese government, urging it to reconsider its boycott of the ongoing talks that began in Geneva on Wednesday.
The US is pushing for Sudan to join the Geneva process, according to sources who spoke to Al Mayadeen.
The sources indicated that Washington had given the Sudanese government only a few days, until the end of this week, to decide whether to participate in the Geneva talks.
These talks, organized by the United States, commenced on Wednesday in a closed-door setting, with representatives from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and delegations from several regional countries, including Egypt, the UAE, and other African nations.
According to Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Geneva, Mousa Assi, the Sudanese government delegation objects to the US insistence on avoiding a political solution in these discussions, preferring instead to focus on ceasefire agreements and facilitating humanitarian aid.
Additionally, the Sudanese delegation has voiced concerns over the participation of the UAE in the dialogue, accusing the Emirati government of providing military and financial support to the RSF in the ongoing conflict in Sudan.
Representatives from the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Sudanese government, the main parties in the conflict, will not attend the talks.
Tom Perrielo, the US Special Envoy for Sudan, insisted that the talks go ahead regardless, saying that the people of Sudan cannot wait longer for a ceasefire. This round of talks will be co-hosted by Saudi Arabia and Switzerland and is supposed to bring the conflict between the Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo-led Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Abdel Fattah al-Burhan-led SAF to an end.
The talks will also see the involvement of the African Union, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Nations as observers.
"The time for peace is now," Perriello said on Tuesday.
"Thus far, SAF has not agreed to participate. Yet we will proceed with our international and technical partners to explore every option to support the people of Sudan," he added, urging the government to "seize the opportunity."
The RSF will have its representatives attend the talks, taking place behind closed doors in an undisclosed location, while the SAF is yet to accept the invite. This is because the SAF's leader has pledged to "cleanse" the country from the RSF and has stressed that "Sudan is not big enough" for both parties to exist.
Meanwhile, Sudan continues to suffer from accumulating humanitarian crises, including widespread hunger, displacement, lack of medical care, and thousands of deaths among civilians.
Previous talks led to nothing
Previous rounds of talks in Saudi Arabia's city of Jeddah produced no substantial results and instead saw the SAF become firmer in its rejection of a ceasefire with the RSF as the war extended.
Earlier in July, al-Burhan stressed that the SAF would not succumb to the mediators' will and negotiate a ceasefire with the RSF.
"We are continuing in this battle until victory, and I repeat once again that we will not negotiate with an enemy who attacks us and occupies our lands," he stated during a visit to Wadi Seidna and Omdurman.
"We will not go to a negotiating table where they [the mediators] want to drag us by our ears," he said, adding that the only condition in which the SAF will negotiate a deal is after the RSF withdraws from areas it controls.
