In the absence of the Army..
US confirms the continuation of the "Geneva" Talks
The US Special Envoy for Sudan, Tom Perriello, reported that the delegations participating in the “Geneva” negotiations are seeking to continue the current meetings in order to achieve actual results on the ground. He pointed out that he would continue negotiations with the aim of obtaining feasible commitments.
On Monday, Tom Perriello stated during a press conference in Geneva: “I asked the delegations participating in the Geneva negotiations twice in a row if they wanted to end the meetings in Switzerland soon, and their answer was; No, we wish to continue.”
Perriello added that the absence of the Sudanese Army delegation from negotiations doesn’t mean that we haven’t achieved positive results, as we succeeded in obtaining commitments to open the crossings and are approaching the stage of enabling (20) million Sudanese citizens to access food and medicine.
The US Special Envoy for Sudan stated: “We discussed the issues of implementing the Jeddah Agreement as well as the International Humanitarian Law, although it’s rather difficult to work in the absence of some concerned parties.”
The US Special Envoy for Sudan pointed out the presence of positive aspects of the Army, government, and Rapid Support Forces, which the Sudanese people will notice. “We have just begun the discussions in regards to protecting civilians and ending violence against women,” he added.
The US Administration Envoy, Gate Taylor, who is also in charge of the Rapid Support Forces file, confirmed that progress had been achieved in the humanitarian field, as the Rapid Support Forces agreed to allow humanitarian aid to pass through the “Ed-Debba” crossing in northern Sudan to the Darfur region.
Taylor reported that progress had been made in obtaining commitments from both sides regarding the delivery of aid to the regions of Blue Nile, Sennar, White Nile, Khartoum, Darfur and Kordofan. He added: “We discussed relief issues with both sides, and with the support of the heads of delegations, we were able to make notable achievements.”
The Army has suspended the ongoing negotiations in “Geneva” since August 14th, as a condition of full implementation of the Jeddah Agreement signed last year. A government delegation also arrived in Cairo on Saturday to hold consultations within two weeks with the United States of America to set its conditions for going to Geneva.
