Sudan’s Pro-democracy Coalition Says Working to Reach Framework Deal with Army 

Sudanese protest against the United Nations mediation between Sudan's civilian and army leaders, outside the UN headquarters in the Manshiya district of the capital Khartoum on November 12, 2022. (AFP)
Sudanese protest against the United Nations mediation between Sudan's civilian and army leaders, outside the UN headquarters in the Manshiya district of the capital Khartoum on November 12, 2022. (AFP)
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Sudan’s Pro-democracy Coalition Says Working to Reach Framework Deal with Army 

Sudanese protest against the United Nations mediation between Sudan's civilian and army leaders, outside the UN headquarters in the Manshiya district of the capital Khartoum on November 12, 2022. (AFP)
Sudanese protest against the United Nations mediation between Sudan's civilian and army leaders, outside the UN headquarters in the Manshiya district of the capital Khartoum on November 12, 2022. (AFP)

Sudan's Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) coalition said on Wednesday it was seeking to sign a framework agreement with the military as a first step to ending the political deadlock that has gripped the country since an October 2021 coup. 

The military takeover ended a partnership with the FFC following the overthrow of Omar al-Bashir and plunged the country into political and economic turmoil. 

The coalition and military began talks with international backing in recent weeks, and General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan this week confirmed that the military had presented its notes on a draft constitution. 

In Wednesday's statement, the coalition said it had reached "understandings" with the military based on their discussions. A high-level military source said that understandings had been reached but that there remained some pending issues. 

The statement said that the coalition would seek to sign a framework agreement with the military and other political forces "that would form a constitutional basis for a civilian democratic transitional authority". 

Before signing a final agreement, the group said that broader discussions would be held on four main issues: transitional justice, security sector reform, revision of the Juba peace agreement, and the dismantling of the Bashir regime. 

These issues have been cited by members of the coalition and analysts as key sources of tension between the military and civilians that culminated in the coup. 



Report: Russian Government Delegation Arrives in Syria for Talks 

People stand on a balcony of the historic Hejaz train station in Damascus on January 26, 2025. (AFP)
People stand on a balcony of the historic Hejaz train station in Damascus on January 26, 2025. (AFP)
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Report: Russian Government Delegation Arrives in Syria for Talks 

People stand on a balcony of the historic Hejaz train station in Damascus on January 26, 2025. (AFP)
People stand on a balcony of the historic Hejaz train station in Damascus on January 26, 2025. (AFP)

The first Russian official delegation to visit Syria since the toppling of Moscow ally Bashar al-Assad has arrived in Damascus, Russian news agencies reported Tuesday.  

The delegation includes deputy foreign minister Mikhail Bogdanov, who is also President Vladimir Putin's special representative on the Middle East and Africa, as well as Alexander Lavrentiev, the president's special representative on Syria, the RIA Novosti agency reported.  

It said it was "the first visit by Russian officials to Damascus" since Assad fled in December in the face of a lightning opposition advance across the country.  

Moscow was one of Assad's key backers, intervening in Syria's civil war in 2015 in his favor. He and his family fled to Russia after his ouster. 

Russia is now seeking to secure the fate of its naval base in Tartus and its air base at Hmeimim - both on Syria's Mediterranean coast and Moscow's only military outposts outside the former Soviet Union - with the new Syrian authorities.  

The group led by Syria's interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa - Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) - is banned in Russia as a "terrorist" organization.  

The organization is rooted in Al-Qaeda's Syria branch but has more recently adopted a moderate tone. 

Sharaa in December noted the "deep strategic interests between Russia and Syria" in an interview with the Al-Arabiya TV channel.  

"All Syria's arms are of Russian origin, and many power plants are managed by Russian experts... We do not want Russia to leave Syria in the way that some wish," Sharaa added.  

US and Ukrainian diplomats visited Syria's new rulers in December.