Warring parties in Sudan are nearing direct talks to end one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, according to Massad Boulos, President Donald Trump’s senior advisor for Africa.
The US is holding discussions with the Sudanese military and their Rapid Support Forces opponents to agree on general principles for the negotiations, Boulos told reporters in New York at the annual United Nations General Assembly meetings.
“The status quo is such that nobody has the upper hand so they’re both ready to talk,” Boulos said. “Hopefully we should be able to announce something very soon,” he said according to Bloomberg agency.
Trump’s advisor also noted that hundreds of thousands of people are trapped in the besieged city of El Fasher, the capital of Sudan’s North Darfur state, where fighting between the army and the RSF has intensified in recent months.
The RSF has agreed to allow aid trucks into the city, and some deliveries have already started flowing, Boulos said. “It’s taking shape as we speak.”
He then expressed cautious hope that the warring parties in Sudan would soon sit at the negotiating table, although years of diplomatic efforts have so far failed to halt a war that has shattered the country and triggered the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
The US has been working with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt to end the conflict, which broke out in 2023. The four nations released a proposal earlier this month for an immediate three-month ceasefire to be followed by a permanent one.
“Sudan, very sadly, is today the world's biggest humanitarian catastrophe. Nothing is comparable to ... what has happened in the last two and a half years. And yet nobody talks about that,” said Boulos.
He spoke following a meeting of the so-called “Quad” countries – the US, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the UAE, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
At least 150,000 people may have been killed since then, according to US estimates, in what’s been called the world’s worst humanitarian crisis and a threat to regional stability.
About half of Sudan’s 45 million citizens are facing extreme hunger and more than half a million children have died from malnutrition, according to the UN.
Also, a statement issued at the ministerial meeting on 'Joint Efforts for De-escalation in Sudan,' urged Sudan's warring parties to resume direct talks for a permanent ceasefire and pledged further action to support peace efforts.
The meeting convened Wednesday on the sidelines of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly in New York. It saw the participation of representatives from the UN, the Arab League, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the foreign ministers of France, Germany and the UK, in addition to representatives from several countries, including Saudi Arabia, Canada, Türkiye, Egypt, Djibouti, Chad, Denmark, Qatar, the US, Kenya, Libya Norway, Switzerland, the UAE and Ethiopia.
In the statement, foreign interference in Sudan’s conflict was strongly condemned, with a call on all state and non-state actors to halt military and financial support in line with UN Security Council resolutions.
The ministers reaffirmed commitment to Sudan's sovereignty and unity, rejected parallel governing bodies, and called for an inclusive transition led by the Sudanese people.
They demanded respect for human rights and humanitarian law, urged compliance with the Jeddah Declaration, and supported accountability efforts by the UN Fact-Finding Mission and the International Criminal Court.
