US, Saudi Arabia welcome warring Sudan parties’ ‘pre-negotiation’ talks

Washington, May 5 (EFE).- The United States and Saudi Arabia on Friday welcomed the start of “pre-negotiation talks” between the two parties to the violent conflict in Sudan, which will begin on Saturday in the Saudi city of Jeddah.

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States urge both parties to take in consideration the interests of the Sudanese nation and its people and actively engage in the talks towards a cease fire and end to the conflict,” the governments said in a joint statement.

The statement comes as representatives of the Sudanese army traveled to Jeddah to begin possible dialogue with those from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group after three weeks of intense fighting.

The US and Saudi Arabia thanked the efforts of the countries and organizations that have supported the talks, including the United Kingdom, the League of Arab States, the African Union and others.

The two parties to the conflict in Sudan have already said that army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti, will not meet face-to-face.

The planned talks will be carried out indirectly and will address humanitarian and non-political issues, according to comments from representatives of both factions in recent days.

Friday is the second day of a one-week truce sponsored by the South Sudanese government, which asked the two military leaders to take advantage of these days to choose their representatives and the city in which they will hold the peace talks.

At least 551 people, including 190 children, have been killed and nearly 5,000 injured in the three weeks of fighting, according to the latest United Nations count. EFE

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