The United States, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD) reconvened ceasefire talks between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). We thank the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for hosting the talks, and welcome IGAD, which is also participating on behalf of the African Union, as a co-facilitator.
Consistent with the May 11 Jeddah Declaration of Commitment to Protect the Civilians of Sudan, the reconvened talks continue to have a narrow set of objectives – to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance, establish ceasefires and other confidence building measures, and build toward a permanent cessation of hostilities.
The talks will not address broader political issues. Sudan’s civilians must be the ones to define Sudan’s path going forward and play the leading role in defining a process to address political issues and restore Sudan’s democratic transition.
As we have repeatedly made clear, there is no acceptable military solution to this conflict. We call upon the SAF and RSF to approach the talks constructively, with the imperative to save lives, reduce the fighting, and create a path to a negotiated exit from the conflict. The United States continues to call on all external actors to avoid fueling the conflict. The time has come to stop the senseless violence, resume civilian governance, and let the people of Sudan achieve their demands for freedom, peace, and justice.