Washington To Host Sudan Quartet Meeting Amid Uncertainty On Outcome

(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) News Report by Mohammad Abdulaziz
KHARTOUM, July 29 (KUNA) -- The US capital Washington is due to host later on Tuesday a meeting of the Sudan Quartet in a new bid to end the internal war that has been dragging on since April 2023.
The gathering, comprising the foreign ministers of the United States of America, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, will be held amid serious skepticism over whether it will produce a tangible settlement due to the fact that the two warring parties, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), and its foe, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), have not been invited to it.
Nevertheless, Masaad Boulos, the former presidential adviser for African affairs, said in press statements that Washington had been in contact with the two warring parties to stop the fighting.
The bloody conflict has pitted the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Disputes over various issues such as integration of the irregular forces into the army, had snowballed into wide scale violence that claimed many lives and left whole areas heaps of ruins.
Observers believe that the Quartet success largely hinges on addressing "regional contradictions and drawing up a clear map and bringing the culprits to account."
The meeting is expected to conclude with a joint statement expressing the four States' stand on cessation of hostilities, launching a comprehensive political dialogue, halting external intervention, facilitating delivery of humanitarian aid and affirming Sudan's unity and sovereignty.
Although the scheduled meeting may constitute an initial step toward the aspired conciliation, the US State Department has affirmed that the "current phase of the political process will not include the two fighting parties or the civil forces." The statement has raised questions about wisdom of holding it amid silence of the two foes.
Despite the skepticisms, Abdallah Hamdok, a former prime minister and leader of the Civil Democratic Alliance of Revolutionary Forces (Sumood), acclaimed it, in a statement, as a crucial step forward to end the war. He also called for a full-scale cease-fire, securing aid deliveries, protecting civilians and launching a political process to tackle the crisis in depth.
Jaafar Hassan, "Sumood" spokesperson, affirmed in a statement to Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) that the meeting would group the regional States that have influence on the Sudanese arenas -- unlike previous meetings that had been restricted to the chiefs of the two warring parties.
In his upbeat assessment of the gathering, Hassan predicted that it would lead to a long-term truce and launch of a political process resulting in sustainable peace. However, he warned of "partial solutions that will keep the foes' fields' control or a settlement based on dividing powers, instead of the aspired full-fledged democratic transformation."
Mubarak Al-Fadil Al-Mahdi, the chief of the National "Al-Taradi" Alliance, led by Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, the RSF leader, expressed his belief that Washington would exert pressure to stop the fighting and would call on the two parties to sign a final agreement, to be followed with a political process to determine form of the future ruling system.
Al-Tijani Al-Sisi, leader of the National Movement Forces, expressed opposition, in remarks on X, to the Washington meeting, arguing it would not serve Sudan's interests.
In spite of a host of questions whether the meeting will be concretely fruitful, some observers believe it will pave the way for "breaking the stalemate," particularly in the shadow of the aggravating humanitarian crisis.
It will be a glimmer of hope considering its venue and influence of the stakeholders, opined Major General Amin Ismail Majzoub, a military expert, in a statement to the Kuwaiti news agency. However, absence of the warring parties might "weaken its outcomes."
Concurring, the political activist Mohammad Amin warned against "recurrence of past futile initiatives," stressing on the necessity of a unified vision to end disputes and contradictions among the regional and international stakeholders. "Washington currently has no solid vision and focuses on securing the Red Sea," he opined.
The meeting is held amid drastic deterioration of the humanitarian conditions. The army now controls Khartoum, the capital, the north and the east, while the paramilitary forces patrol most of Darfur, parts of Kordofan, except for Al-Fasher city.
The internal war has caused widespread displacements of civilians, severe food shortage and massive destruction. (end)
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