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Hemedti on Official Visit to Ethiopia, Holds Talks with PM on Sudan’s Stability 

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said he had received Dagalo and his delegation "for a discussion on securing peace and stability in the Sudan", posting pictures of them seated around a restaurant table. (Ethiopian PM on X)
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said he had received Dagalo and his delegation "for a discussion on securing peace and stability in the Sudan", posting pictures of them seated around a restaurant table. (Ethiopian PM on X)
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Hemedti on Official Visit to Ethiopia, Holds Talks with PM on Sudan’s Stability 

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said he had received Dagalo and his delegation "for a discussion on securing peace and stability in the Sudan", posting pictures of them seated around a restaurant table. (Ethiopian PM on X)
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said he had received Dagalo and his delegation "for a discussion on securing peace and stability in the Sudan", posting pictures of them seated around a restaurant table. (Ethiopian PM on X)

The leader of Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces visited Ethiopia on Thursday where he said he discussed the need for a swift end to the war between the RSF and the Sudanese army, during the second leg of a rare publicly-announced foreign tour.

RSF leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, whose whereabouts since the war began in mid-April were previously unknown, landed in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa after meeting Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni at his country home on Wednesday.

Diplomatic efforts, including Saudi and US-led talks in Jeddah, have made little visible progress towards halting the conflict in Sudan. The RSF has recently made military gains, taking control of Wad Madani, one of Sudan's major cities, and consolidating its grip on the western region of Darfur.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said he had received Dagalo and his delegation "for a discussion on securing peace and stability in the Sudan", posting pictures of them seated around a restaurant table.

Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen earlier met Dagalo, commonly known as Hemedti, at Ethiopia's Bole International Airport. Hemedti posted pictures of his arrival and a meeting with Demeke on social media platform X.

"We discussed the need to bring a swift end to this war, the historical crisis in Sudan, and how to best alleviate the hardships of the Sudanese people," Hemedti said.

War between Sudan's regular army and the RSF broke out amid disputes about the future powers and status of the army and the RSF under a planned transition from military rule to a civilian democracy through free elections.

The conflict has devastated the capital Khartoum, forced more than seven million people to flee their homes and triggered waves of ethnic killings in Darfur.

Earlier this month, East African regional body IGAD said it had secured an agreement for a meeting between Hemedti and army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and a commitment to a ceasefire, but both sides distanced themselves from the assertion.

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France's Macron Wants EU to End Syrian Sanctions 

French President Emmanuel Macron (L) and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa greet each other after a joint press conference following a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, on May 7, 2025. (AFP)
French President Emmanuel Macron (L) and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa greet each other after a joint press conference following a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, on May 7, 2025. (AFP)
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France's Macron Wants EU to End Syrian Sanctions 

French President Emmanuel Macron (L) and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa greet each other after a joint press conference following a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, on May 7, 2025. (AFP)
French President Emmanuel Macron (L) and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa greet each other after a joint press conference following a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, on May 7, 2025. (AFP)

France's president said on Wednesday he would urge the EU to end sanctions on Syria when they come up for renewal in June and lobby the US to follow suit as well as keep its troops there to ensure Syria's stability.

Speaking alongside Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who was in Paris for his first trip to Europe since the overthrow of former President Bashar al-Assad in December, Emmanuel Macron said it was the international community's duty to ease Syria's economic plight.

"I told the president that if he continues on his path, we would do the same. Namely by first progressively lifting European sanctions, and then we would also lobby our American partners to follow suit on this matter," Macron said.

He later added that he would propose EU sanctions be allowed to expire on June 1.

With the World Bank estimating Syria's reconstruction costs at more than $250 billion, Sharaa wants sanctions relief to kickstart an economy battered by 14 years of civil war. During that period, the US, European Union and Britain imposed tough sanctions on the Assad government.

The EU has lifted some sanctions, while some others that target individuals and entities are due to expire next month.

Renewing those would require consensus among the 27 member states, although the bloc could opt for a limited renewal or exempt the Central Bank or other entities critical to economic recovery.

"Sanctions are an obstacle we discussed at length. I explained all the consequences and impact and said the sanctions were imposed on previous regime and nothing justifies the sanctions being maintained,” Sharaa said.

Sharaa received a UN exemption to travel to Paris as he remains on a terrorism sanctions list for his previous leadership of the armed Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, a former al-Qaeda affiliate.

The two leaders discussed how to ensure Syria's sovereignty and security, treatment of minorities after recent attacks on Alawites and Druze, efforts against ISIS militants and coordination of aid and economic support, French officials said.

Indirect talks with Israel

Sharaa said that his country is holding indirect talks with Israel to prevent recent hostilities from getting out of control.

Israel carried out a series of airstrikes on parts of Syria last week, saying it aims to protect the country’s Druze minority from coming under attack by pro-government gunmen.

Speaking to reporters in Paris, al-Sharaa said, ″Regarding negotiations with Israel, there are indirect talks through mediators to calm down the situation so that they don’t get out of control.” He did not say who the mediators are.

There was no immediate public comment from Israel. Israel has its own Druze community and officials have said they would protect the Druze of Syria and warned ISIS groups from entering predominantly Druze areas.

The visit marked a diplomatic boost for Sharaa from a Western power at a time when the United States has said it does not recognize any entity as the government of Syria.

Reuters reported in April that Syria had responded to a US list of conditions for potential partial sanctions relief after Washington in January issued a six-month exemption for some sanctions to encourage aid to Syria.

In exchange for fulfilling all US demands, Washington would extend the suspension for two years and possibly issue another exemption, sources told Reuters in March.

Over the past months, France acted as an intermediary between Sharaa and the Kurds as sources said the US would reduce its 2,000 troops in Syria by half over the coming months.

Paris has been holding talks with the US on how to handle Washington's withdrawal and how France could play a bigger role. Macron said he was trying to convince the US to lift sanctions and delay withdrawing troops as that could destabilize Syria in this transitional period.

France welcomed Assad's fall and has increasingly fostered ties with Sharaa's transitional authorities. France last month appointed a charge d'affaires in Damascus with a small team of diplomats as a step towards fully reopening its embassy.