Sudanese Delegation Visits Dubai to Discuss UAE Mediation in Disputes with Ethiopia

FILE PHOTO: A handout satellite image shows a closeup view of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and the Blue Nile River in Ethiopia July 12, 2020. Satellite image ©2020 Maxar Technologies via REUTERS
FILE PHOTO: A handout satellite image shows a closeup view of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and the Blue Nile River in Ethiopia July 12, 2020. Satellite image ©2020 Maxar Technologies via REUTERS
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Sudanese Delegation Visits Dubai to Discuss UAE Mediation in Disputes with Ethiopia

FILE PHOTO: A handout satellite image shows a closeup view of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and the Blue Nile River in Ethiopia July 12, 2020. Satellite image ©2020 Maxar Technologies via REUTERS
FILE PHOTO: A handout satellite image shows a closeup view of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and the Blue Nile River in Ethiopia July 12, 2020. Satellite image ©2020 Maxar Technologies via REUTERS

A high-ranking Sudanese delegation headed to Dubai on Thursday to discuss UAE's initiative to mediate in the border and dam disputes between Khartoum and Addis Ababa.

Sudan’s transitional cabinet backed the proposal for Emirati mediation after it had been studied at ministry level, Information Minister Hamza Baloul said.

This comes as tensions surrounding the control of farmland in Al-Fashqa, on the border, have escalated in recent months, while talks over the operation of the GERD are deadlocked.

In January, a UAE high-ranking ministerial delegation visited Khartoum to resolve the border issue between Sudan and Ethiopia in an attempt to converge the views between the three countries involved in the GERD dispute.

Khartoum has repeatedly urged Ethiopia to officially recognizes Sudanese sovereignty over the Al-Fashaqa area and demarcates the border.

Meanwhile, US Special Envoy for Sudan Ambassador Donald Booth is expected to arrive in Khartoum on Sunday for a two-day visit, as part of a regional tour, which will include Egypt, Ethiopia and the Central African Republic.

Booth will discuss with Sudanese officials developments on GERD talks, as well as the democratic transition in the country, SUNA reported.



EU’s Kallas Says She Hopes for Political Agreement on Easing Syria Sanctions

In this photograph taken on January 12, 2025, a vendor waits for customers at her mobile shop in the Damascus Tower market, which specializes in the smart phone business, in the Syrian capital. (AFP)
In this photograph taken on January 12, 2025, a vendor waits for customers at her mobile shop in the Damascus Tower market, which specializes in the smart phone business, in the Syrian capital. (AFP)
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EU’s Kallas Says She Hopes for Political Agreement on Easing Syria Sanctions

In this photograph taken on January 12, 2025, a vendor waits for customers at her mobile shop in the Damascus Tower market, which specializes in the smart phone business, in the Syrian capital. (AFP)
In this photograph taken on January 12, 2025, a vendor waits for customers at her mobile shop in the Damascus Tower market, which specializes in the smart phone business, in the Syrian capital. (AFP)

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Wednesday she hopes a political agreement on easing Syria sanctions can be reached at a gathering of European ministers next week.

EU foreign ministers will discuss the situation in Syria during a meeting in Brussels on Jan. 27.

European officials began rethinking their approach towards Syria after Bashar al-Assad was ousted as president by opposition forces led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group, which the United Nations designates as a terrorist group.

Some European capitals want to move quickly to suspend economic sanctions in a signal of support for the transition in Damascus. Others have sought to ensure that even if some sanctions are eased, Brussels retains leverage in its relationship with the new Syrian authorities.

“We are ready to do step-for-step approach and also to discuss what is the fallback position,” Kallas told Reuters in an interview.

“If we see that the developments are going in the wrong direction, then we are also willing to put them back,” she added.

Six EU member states called this month for the bloc to temporarily suspend sanctions on Syria in areas such as transport, energy and banking.

Current EU sanctions include a ban on Syrian oil imports and a freeze on any Syrian central bank assets in Europe.