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Irish Times

US calls off Sudan peace talks after post-war power dispute

The US has postponed a meeting of foreign ministers to discuss the war in Sudan because of a dispute over the wording of a proposed joint statement, according to people familiar with the matter. US secretary of state Marco Rubio was scheduled to host the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt in Washington on Wednesday. The discussions by the so-called Quad of countries were aimed at advancing peace talks between two Sudanese generals who have been at war for two years. The failure to proceed with negotiations came after Egypt disagreed with the wording of a planned communique that stated neither the Sudanese Armed Forces nor the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group should have a leading role in a postwar transitional government, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information isn't public. Egypt historically has strong relations with Sudan's army-backed government, while the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been accused of backing the RSF – an allegation it denies. READ MORE Further talks by the Quad may be rescheduled for the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York in September, one of the people said. The Egyptian foreign ministry and the US state department didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. Conflict erupted in Sudan in April 2023, when government forces failed to agree to a power-sharing accord with the RSF. The two sides jointly carried out a coup against a civilian-led government in 2021. At least 150,000 people have been killed since the start of the war, according to US estimates, while millions more have been forced to flee their homes in what the United Nations has called the world's biggest humanitarian crisis. Both sides have announced rival governments, raising concerns that the North African nation could split in two – similar to the situation in neighbouring Libya. Washington's involvement in the talks forms part of a wider push by US president Donald Trump's administration to promote peace in a string of conflicts including in Ukraine, Gaza and the Democratic Republic of Congo. While the US brokered a tentative deal in eastern Congo between its government and the M23 rebel group, it has been less successful in other arenas. Under president Joe Biden, the US failed to forge peace in Sudan through the so-called ALPS group that included Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, the African Union and the United Nations. The UAE has repeatedly called for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in the North African nation, as well as the resumption of a political process that leads to a civilian government independent of military control. – Bloomberg