US envoy says will convene Sudan talks, even without Khartoum

The United States insisted Monday it would press ahead with convening talks this week on the devastating war in Sudan, even without the Sudanese government.

The US-mediated talks in Switzerland are scheduled to start on Wednesday, but Washington has had no confirmation from the Sudanese armed forces that they are intending to take part.

Sudan's government, whose army has been at war with paramilitaries for nearly 16 months, has voiced concerns over the US approach.

"We've had extensive engagement with the SAF [Sudanese armed forces], but they have not yet given us an affirmation" on coming to the planned talks, said Tom Perriello, the US special envoy for Sudan.

However, "we will move forward with this event this week, and that has been made clear to the parties", he told a press conference at the US mission in Geneva.

Perriello said this round of negotiations could last up to 10 days. He did not specify the location in Switzerland, citing security reasons.

The US last month invited Sudan's warring sides to ceasefire talks, co-hosted with Saudi Arabia and the Swiss, more than a year after fighting broke out between the regular army led by General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

The RSF, commanded by General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, swiftly accepted the US invitation.

"The RSF gave an unconditional agreement to participate," Perriello confirmed.

There cannot be "formal mediation between the two parties if SAF does not attend – in which case, we continue to focus on the international and technical elements," he said.

Quibble over UAE

Earlier talks had taken place in Saudi Arabia between a Sudanese delegation and US mediators on conditions for the government's participation.

They ended "without agreement", Sudan's Minerals Minister Mohammed Abu Namo, the head of the delegation, said on Sunday.

The Sudanese government said late Sunday that "more discussions" were needed to join the upcoming ceasefire negotiations.

Sudan's Media Minister Graham Abdel Qader said the Sudanese delegation noted the US's "failure to push the rebel militia to commit to implementing the Jeddah Declaration", which was negotiated last year to protect civilians.

The US delegation in Jeddah, led by Perriello, also "did not provide justification for establishing a new platform" outside of the former US and Saudi-led negotiation track, which only yielded short-lived ceasefires last year, being immediately broken by both sides.

Abdel Qader said the government "rejects any new observers or participants" – notably after Washington "insisted on the participation of the United Arab Emirates as an observer".

The Sudanese army has repeatedly accused the UAE of backing the RSF.

"Having Egypt and UAE at the table is an incredibly important potential tool for ensuring not just there's a deal on paper, but if those are present… they can become more like guarantors for the kinds of outcomes the Sudanese people ask for," said Perriello.

"This is a tremendous gathering of experts and we are going to move forward. If SAF changes its mind and wants to participate, we will then be able to have… that mediated component."