Exclusive: Sudan’s Burhan open to talks with UAE but ceasefire not imminent

“Exclusive: Sudan’s Burhan open to talks with UAE but ceasefire not imminent Submitted by Eiad Husham on Thu, 05/21/2026 - 13:30 Sources say Sudanese army chief's recent visit to Gulf is part of Bahrain's efforts to broker talks with UAE The Sultan of Oman, Haitham bin Tariq Al Said (left), meets Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in Muscat, Oman, on 21 April 2026 (Oman News Agency/Handout via Reuters) Off Sudanese army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has told Middle East Eye he is willing to open talks with the United Arab Emirates , as long as certain conditions are met. These conditions include the UAE ending its support of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) , which has been at war with Burhan’s Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) since April 2023. “We are willing to enter into peace talks with the UAE, but these talks need to be conducted on Sudan’s terms,” Burhan said. “The UAE must respect the unity of Sudan.” MEE can reveal that the Sudanese leader’s visit to Bahrain last week was part of an attempt by Bahrain to facilitate talks between Sudan’s army-backed government and the UAE. Efforts to establish a channel of communication between Abu Dhabi and the Sudanese government are continuing but have not been successful so far, said a Sudanese intelligence source and four European diplomatic sources familiar with the discussions. The sources told Middle East Eye that Bahrain’s close political ties with Abu Dhabi and its ability to relay messages between Sudan’s army-backed government and Emirati officials was crucial. Burhan’s visit to Bahrain – and to Oman and Saudi Arabia – comes at a time of growing optimism within Sudanese government circles in Port Sudan that the UAE could eventually reduce or halt its support for the RSF, which has been widely accused of committing genocide in Darfur . Sudan's Burhan confronts UAE and Ethiopia over Khartoum airport drone strikes Read More » The recent defections of a string of former senior RSF commanders – all of whom have said the UAE is providing military and other support to the Sudanese paramilitary – has suggested that a door could be opened to renewed engagement between the SAF and Abu Dhabi. But despite the recent diplomatic activity, diplomats familiar with the matter say there is little indication that the UAE is prepared to shift its position in the near future, while Burhan recently openly confronted Abu Dhabi and Ethiopia over their support for the RSF. MEE recently reported on the use of an Ethiopian army base by the RSF, and relations between Sudan and Ethiopia are at a low. The UAE is also implicated in supplying the RSF in Ethiopia, but the Emirati foreign ministry told MEE that it rejected what it described as “unfounded accusations and deliberate propaganda” from the Sudanese government. “These fabrications are part of a calculated pattern of deflection – shifting blame to others to evade responsibility for their own actions – and are intended to prolong the war and obstruct a genuine peace process,” the Emirati foreign ministry said, referring to the SAF and the government it supports. Sudan to UAE back-channel According to the diplomatic sources, several attempts have been made over the past three years to establish direct communication between the SAF leadership and the UAE. One of the only successful efforts took place in July 2024, when Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed facilitated a phone call between Burhan and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The same sources said another attempt at creating a channel between the UAE and the Sudanese army emerged during indirect negotiations involving representatives from the SAF and the RSF in Washington last year. Exclusive: The Ethiopian army base covertly supporting Sudan’s RSF Read More » The talks were organised under the framework of the Quad mechanism, which includes the United States , Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt . During those discussions, the Quad reportedly arranged a face-to-face meeting between Sudanese military representatives and Emirati officials in an effort to ease tensions between the two sides. But, according to three sources briefed on the meeting, the discussions collapsed almost immediately. The SAF delegation presented what it described as evidence of Emirati military and logistical support for the RSF, accusations Abu Dhabi has repeatedly denied publicly. The Emirati delegation, led by the Minister of State at the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Shakhboot bin Nahyan Al Nahyan, ended the meeting after only a few minutes, far shorter than the hour initially scheduled. “The atmosphere became tense very quickly,” one diplomat said. “The Sudanese side focused almost entirely on accusations regarding Emirati support for the RSF, and the Emiratis saw no basis for continuing the discussion.” Deep suspicion remains Another senior regional diplomat said Abu Dhabi remains deeply suspicious of Sudan’s military leadership and sees little reason to engage under the current circumstances. “The UAE does not trust the SAF leadership,” the diplomat said. “There is a perception in Abu Dhabi that the army remains heavily influenced by Islamist networks and is increasingly aligned with Iran .” 'Without a major change in the approach taken by Washington and Tel Aviv towards the region, there is unlikely to be enough pressure on Abu Dhabi' – Senior regional diplomat Aside from Bahrain’s attempts to re-establish communications between Sudan and the UAE, Burhan’s recent trip to the Gulf was also intended to signal that his government does not side with Iran. The diplomat also said that wider geopolitical calculations are shaping the UAE’s position. “Without a major change in the approach taken by Washington and Tel Aviv towards the region, there is unlikely to be enough pressure on Abu Dhabi to reconsider its current strategy in Sudan,” the source said. Both Israel and the US remain firm allies of the UAE, despite a recent disagreement prompted by the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which revealed that Netanyahu and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan had held a “secret meeting” weeks after the war on Iran began. Foreign involvement in Sudan The war in Sudan, which erupted in April 2023 between the SAF and the RSF, has increasingly become entangled in broader regional rivalries involving Gulf powers, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Turkey and western actors. The UAE has continued to deny supporting the RSF, despite growing evidence to the contrary, including the testimony of the paramilitary’s former commanders, satellite imagery, flight tracking, weapons serial numbers, battlefield evidence and much more. Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, an Emirati academic close to Abu Dhabi’s leadership, recently criticised the “singling out” of the UAE over its support for the RSF, noting that the Sudanese paramilitary “has support from Uganda, from Ethiopia, from Chad”. The four diplomatic sources interviewed by MEE agreed that there remains no clear consensus among the international and regional actors involved in Sudan on how the war should be resolved. According to the sources, divisions inside the Quad mechanism have become increasingly visible, with each pursuing separate interests and priorities inside Sudan. 'The problem is that everyone officially wants peace, but they all imagine a different Sudan after the war' – European diplomat “The problem is that everyone officially wants peace, but they all imagine a different Sudan after the war,” one diplomat said. “That makes coordinated pressure almost impossible.” Another source described the current diplomatic environment as fragmented and unlikely to produce a breakthrough before the final months of the year. The assessment appears to align with remarks made last week by US Special Envoy for Africa and Arab countries Massad Boulos, who acknowledged the difficulties involved in bringing Sudan’s warring parties to the negotiating table. Saudi Arabia's diplomatic moves The diplomatic manoeuvring comes as Saudi Arabia intensifies its own efforts to shape Sudan’s political landscape, seeking to counter growing Emirati influence over civilian and military actors. According to one regional diplomat and a Sudanese politician familiar with the recent Saudi contacts, Riyadh has quietly expanded outreach to Sudanese civilian political groups over recent months. Since Ramadan, Saudi officials have reportedly hosted a series of meetings with Sudanese politicians, including figures associated with the civilian coalition Sumoud, led by former Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, who is based in the UAE, and members of the Democratic Bloc. 'The Saudis increasingly believe that their previous approach helped deepen instability rather than contain it' – Sudanese political figure The meetings, according to the sources, are part of a broader Saudi attempt to cultivate political influence inside Sudan comparable to the leverage the UAE has developed over parts of the civilian political sphere since the outbreak of the war. Saudi Arabia is also attempting to build a civilian political coalition aligned with Burhan’s administration. One Sudanese political figure familiar with the discussions said Saudi officials had privately expressed frustration over their previous approach towards Sudan following the 2019 uprising that toppled former president Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who had been in power since 1989. According to the source, Saudi officials told Sudanese politicians they now believe Gulf states, particularly Saudi Arabia, relied too heavily on Emirati advice in backing Sudan’s military leadership and transitional military structures after the revolution. “The Saudis increasingly believe that their previous approach helped deepen instability rather than contain it,” the source said. Saudi officials are now placing greater emphasis on the formation of a civilian-led government structure, according to multiple sources familiar with the discussions. That position became particularly visible during debates surrounding the appointment of a civilian prime minister by Burhan’s administration. According to a diplomat familiar with the matter, the Saudis strongly encouraged Burhan to appoint a civilian premier before eventually naming Kamil Idris. The move reportedly generated tensions with Egypt, which prefers a slower political transition process and is cautious about rapid civilian restructuring within Sudan’s wartime government. Inside the rise of the Haftar family’s Dubai-based 'money man' Read More » “The Egyptians opposed the idea,” the diplomat said. “But the Saudis pushed hard for Burhan to move ahead with appointing a civilian prime minister.” The different approaches taken by Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt reflect an increasingly competitive regional environment surrounding Sudan’s war and the country’s uncertain political future. While Gulf states continue to publicly support diplomatic initiatives aimed at ending the war, diplomats acknowledge privately that rival strategic interests shape their engagement with Sudan’s military and civilian factions. For now, diplomats say the indirect messages exchanged through Bahrain are unlikely to produce any immediate breakthrough between the SAF and the UAE. But the renewed contacts also suggest that, despite the public hostility between both sides, communication channels remain open behind closed doors, as regional powers continue to search for leverage in a war that has devastated Sudan. Sudan war Oscar Rickett News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0

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