PREVIEW
Sudan Armed Forces have so far refused idea of direct talks with RSF opponents
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el Sisi have put the hard sell on Sudan Armed Forces leader Abdel Fattah al Burhan to agree to peace talks brokered by Washington and Riyadh to end the two-year civil war.
Burhan met with Sisi in Cairo on 18 December, days after talks with Bin Salman and other Saudi officials. Sisi said that partition of Sudan – an increasing concern following the Rapid Support Forces’ recent establishment of a rival Darfur-based administration – was a ‘red line’ for Egypt.
Though Sisi has been one of Burhan’s closest allies since the start of the civil war in April 2023, Saudi has hitherto been far quieter, particularly in comparison to its neighbour, the United Arab Emirates, the main backer of the RSF (AC Vol 66 No 23, Abu Dhabi pressures Mahamat Kaka).
United States President Donald Trump’s Africa envoy Massad Boulos was also in Riyadh at the same time and met with Saudi officials, though he is not believed to have held talks with Burhan.
Bin Salman says that Trump agreed to his request to intervene in the Sudanese civil war during their meeting in the Oval Office in November.
The SAF’s longstanding position has been to refuse direct talks with the RSF . Unlike the RSF, it has so far also refused to support a US-drafted ceasefire plan presented in October (Dispatches, 10/11/25, Burhan under pressure after Hemeti backs US ceasefire plan).
The US has taken stiffer action against Sudan’s belligerents than the European Union and United Kingdom, with Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden sanctioning RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo ‘Hemeti’.
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