The Sudanese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ali Al-Sadiq, warned of the possibility that the Egyptian mediation initiative will not achieve its goals if others from outside the region participate in it. He said in remarks to Sudan TV, today (Wednesday): that his country views “positively” this initiative, which Cairo will host tomorrow (Thursday).
Commenting on Egypt’s initiative to host a summit of Sudan’s neighboring countries to discuss ways to end the conflict, he added: We look at it positively and hope to achieve its goals and solve Sudan’s problems.
The foreign minister pointed out that Kenyan President William Ruto and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed “want to achieve some gains in the region, but this will not be at the expense of Sudan.”
The Sudanese Foreign Ministry announced yesterday (Tuesday) the refusal to deploy any foreign forces, stressing that it would consider them hostile.
She explained that “what was stated in the Quartet’s final statement regarding the absence of our delegation is inaccurate and contradicts reality,” condemning the statements of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed about imposing an air embargo on Sudan, contrary to his understandings with the Chairman of the Sovereignty Council, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan.
The IGAD Addis Ababa summit caused anger among Sudanese circles due to the call for the deployment of reserve forces to East Africa, as well as statements made by Kenyan President William Ruto and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, calling for a no-fly zone and the disarmament of heavy weapons.
Meanwhile, the British government announced the imposition of new sanctions on a number of companies linked to the leaders of the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces. And she said in a statement today: The new sanctions target companies that fuel the devastating conflict taking place in Sudan by financing and arming the warring parties. She added that the sanctions imposed on companies controlled by the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces would “prevent British citizens, companies and banks from dealing with them and put pressure on the Sudanese parties to engage in the peace process.” And it stated that these sanctions will lead to the freezing of any assets held by these companies in the United Kingdom.
A source in the US State Department revealed the US’ readiness to take additional steps within the framework of imposing sanctions. The official, who declined to be named, said that since the outbreak of violence in Sudan, the United States has worked with its allies in the region to stop the violence, improve the catastrophic humanitarian situation, and prevent human rights violations there.
