Egypt-UAE Dispute Puts off Quartet Meeting on Sudan in Washington

A meeting on the war in Sudan, scheduled to be held in Washington between the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Egypt, has been postponed.

The postponement, according to two diplomatic sources, was due to a disagreement between Cairo and Abu Dhabi over the wording of the joint final statement.

The disagreement between Egypt and the UAE, the two most influential external parties in the Sudanese conflict, has emerged regarding the role of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAFl and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia in any future peace process.

According to the information available so far, the meeting was delayed due to “unresolved differences” regarding the final statement. An Arab diplomatic source explained to Agence France-Presse that “the UAE introduced a last-minute amendment stipulating that the SAF and RSF militias would not participate in the future transitional process,” which Cairo deemed “unacceptable.”

It is well known that Egypt, the closest ally of the legitimate Sudanese government, has consistently stressed “the importance of preserving Sudanese national institutions,” specifically referring to the military establishment.

For his part, another source familiar with the negotiations told AFP, “The United States distributed a draft that everyone, including the UAE, agreed to, but Egypt rejected the clause stipulating that neither warring party would have control over the transitional phase.” Consequently, the United States decided to defer the meeting to a later date, which has yet to be announced.