Sudan says consultations with US conclude without agreement

KHARTOUM, Sudan

Sudan said Sunday that consultations held in the Saudi city of Jeddah with the US concluded without an agreement on Khartoum’s participation in planned peace talks in Switzerland.

The peace talks, slated to begin on Aug. 14, are planned to address the ongoing conflict between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group.

Head of Sudan’s delegation Mohamed Bashir Abu-Namo said the consultations concluded without an agreement on the government’s participation in the Geneva talks.

"This is a recommendation to the leadership not to participate in the Geneva negotiations,” Abu-Namos said.

"The matter is ultimately left to the leadership's decision and its assessments, and there are certainly many details that led us to take this decision to end the consultative dialogue without an agreement,” he added, without providing details.

Friday’s consultations followed a phone call between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the head of the Sudanese Sovereign Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

The situation in Sudan remains dire amid a deadly conflict that killed nearly 18,800 people and displaced close to 10 million people since April 2023, according to UN figures.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi