Arab League: Ceasefire in Sudan Is Top Priority

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit holds talks in Cairo on Sunday with head of Sudan’s Coordination of Civil Democratic Forces (Taqaddum), former PM Abdalla Hamdok. (Arab League)
Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit holds talks in Cairo on Sunday with head of Sudan’s Coordination of Civil Democratic Forces (Taqaddum), former PM Abdalla Hamdok. (Arab League)
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Arab League: Ceasefire in Sudan Is Top Priority

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit holds talks in Cairo on Sunday with head of Sudan’s Coordination of Civil Democratic Forces (Taqaddum), former PM Abdalla Hamdok. (Arab League)
Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit holds talks in Cairo on Sunday with head of Sudan’s Coordination of Civil Democratic Forces (Taqaddum), former PM Abdalla Hamdok. (Arab League)

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit stressed on Sunday that halting the war in Sudan and maintaining the country’s territorial integrity is a top priority for the pan-Arab body.

“The Arab League is fully ready to provide any needed assistance to the Sudanese parties to solve the crisis,” Aboul Gheit said during talks in Cairo with former prime and head of Sudan’s Coordination of Civil Democratic Forces (Taqaddum) Abdalla Hamdok.

A delegation from Taqaddum, led by Hamdok, kicked off on Friday a visit to Cairo to hold talks with senior Egyptian officials, officials from the Arab League and Sudanese figures residing in Egypt.

This is the former PM’s first visit to Egypt since the eruption of the war in mid-April 2023.

Gamal Roshdy, spokesman for the Arab League's secretary-general, said Aboul Gheit listened to a briefing by Hamdok about Taqaddum' efforts to swiftly reach a ceasefire and political process through inclusive Sudanese dialogue that brings together all parties to save the country and stop the bloodshed.

Aboul Gheit stated that stopping war and protecting the territorial integrity of Sudan are among the Arab League’s priorities, adding that it is fully ready to provide any required assistance to unify the Sudanese parties in pursuit of solving the crisis and helping the Sudanese state in any initiative in this respect.

Roshdy said Hamdok thanked Aboul Gheit for the initiative he took through the appeal he issued on March 5 to the Sudanese parties to hold a ceasefire during the holy month of Ramadan, hoping they will build on it to reach a political solution to the crisis.



US Links Ankara-Damascus Normalization to Political Solution in Syria

Meeting between Erdogan and Assad in 2010 (Archive)
Meeting between Erdogan and Assad in 2010 (Archive)
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US Links Ankara-Damascus Normalization to Political Solution in Syria

Meeting between Erdogan and Assad in 2010 (Archive)
Meeting between Erdogan and Assad in 2010 (Archive)

Recent statements by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on his willingness to meet Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to normalize relations between the two countries have sparked mixed reactions.
While the Syrian opposition sees the possibility of such a meeting despite the challenges, Damascus views the statements as a political maneuver by the Turks. Meanwhile, the United States has tied the normalization process to achieving a political solution in Syria based on UN Security Council Resolution 2254, issued in 2015.
Turkish media reported on Thursday that a US administration official, who was not named, confirmed that Washington is against normalizing relations with the Syrian regime under Assad. He emphasized that Washington cannot accept normalizing ties with Damascus without progress toward a political solution that ends the conflicts in Syria.
Meanwhile, the head of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces, Hadi al-Bahra, stated that a meeting between Assad and Erdogan is possible despite the obstacles. In a statement to Reuters on Thursday, Bahra said the meeting is feasible, even though Ankara is fully aware that the Assad regime cannot currently meet its demands and understands the regime’s limitations.
Bahra pointed out that the UN-led political process remains frozen and that he had briefed US and Western officials on the latest developments in the Syrian file. On Saturday, Bahra participated in a consultative meeting in Ankara with the Syrian Negotiation Commission, along with a high-level delegation from the US State Department, during which they exchanged views on the political solution and the need to establish binding mechanisms for implementing international resolutions related to the Syrian issue.
On the other side, Assad’s special advisor, Bouthaina Shaaban, dismissed Erdogan’s announcement that Ankara is awaiting a response from Damascus regarding his meeting with Assad for normalization as another political maneuver with ulterior motives.
Shaaban, speaking during a lecture at the Omani Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which was reported by Turkish media on Thursday, stated that any rapprochement between the two countries is contingent on its withdrawal of forces from Syrian territory.