(Bloomberg) — Foreign ministers of the US, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt released the outline for a plan to end the conflict in Sudan, calling for an immediate three-month ceasefire followed by a permanent one.
The joint statement, carried by official state news agencies of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, foresees a transitional process to be launched and concluded within nine months after the permanent ceasefire takes effect, provided that such process isn’t “controlled by any warring party.”
Foreign ministers of the so-called Quad nations, who met at the invitation of the US on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting in New York, stressed the need to cease all external military backing for the warring parties, and said they would exert all efforts to reach a negotiated settlement between Sudan’s army-backed government and its rival, the Rapid Support Forces.
Egypt historically has strong relations with Sudan’s army-backed government, while the UAE has been accused of supporting the RSF — an allegation it denies.
The US previously postponed the meeting because of a dispute over the joint statement, after Egypt took issue with wording that stated neither the Sudanese Armed Forces nor the RSF paramilitary group should have a leading role in a post-war transitional government.
The revised wording rejects any role for groups “that belong to or are closely linked to the Muslim Brotherhood,” without specifying either of the main warring camps.
The ministers cite commitment to promoting conditions that ensure the security of the broader Red Sea region, as well as to “deny space to those destabilizing regional and domestic actors who seek to benefit from continued conflict in Sudan.”
Conflict erupted in the northeast African nation of about 50 million people in April 2023, when government forces failed to agree to a power-sharing accord with the RSF. The two sides jointly carried out a coup against a civilian-led government in 2021. At least 150,000 people may have been killed since then, according to US estimates, in what’s been called the world’s worst humanitarian crisis and a threat to regional stability.
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