Sudan’s Burhan to attend Russia-Africa summit in July
June 30, 2023 (KHARTOUM) – General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Chairman of Sudan’s Sovereign Council, is set to participate in the upcoming Russia-Africa summit scheduled to be held in St. Petersburg next month.
“The head of our Transitional Sovereignty Council, Mr Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, is going to attend the forum,” announced the Sovereign’s Council Deputy Chairman Malik Agar during a news conference in Moscow on Friday.
The second Russia-Africa Summit is scheduled for 26–29 July 2023 in Saint Petersburg.
Initially planned to be held in Addis Ababa in October 2022, the Summit was postponed in July last year due to complications arising from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The rescheduled summit, originally set to span four days, will now be shortened to two days, as Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced on 21 June. The adjustment is attributed to the need for “fine-tuning” the program.
The military-led government seeks at least to neutralize Moscow from backing the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which have been fighting the army for ten weeks.
Khartoum believes that the RSF have recently received military support from Wagner mercenary forces based in the neighbouring Central African Republic.
Agar requested Russia to support his government’s efforts to end armed conflict with the RSF. The request comes as Moscow seems resolved to control Wagner’s activities abroad after the recent mutiny against the Russian army.
On June 28, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Russian Foreign Ministry contacted the governments of Syria, Central African Republic and Mali.
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated on Thursday that his government is interested in helping to create the conditions for normalizing the situation.
“We would appreciate recommendations on how Russia and other members of the international community could contribute to overcoming the crisis,” Lavrov said.
Russia, with a keen interest in securing a military base on the Red Sea, might pursue efforts to persuade the Sudanese military to execute the suspended deal previously signed with the former regime.
(ST)