Sudan protests to German envoy over European conference on crisis, slams UAE role
March 26, 2025 (PORT SUDAN) – Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Youssif on Wednesday criticized European countries for organizing a conference on Sudan’s crisis, expressing the protest during a meeting with Germany’s Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, Heiko Nitschke.
The European Union, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany have decided to organize a high-level conference on the Sudan crisis in London in mid-April. The conference is expected to address the humanitarian situation and mobilize support for the United Nations aid plan, which aims to assist 20.9 million people.
Foreign Minister Ali Youssif received the German Special Envoy, Heiko Nitschke, who arrived on Wednesday in Port Sudan, eastern Sudan, for an official visit.
In a statement received by “Sudan Tribune,” the Foreign Ministry said the minister “denounced the convening of a conference called for by the UK, co-chaired with Germany and France, on Sudan’s issues without consulting with it [Sudan] as the concerned party.”
The ministry also criticized the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) planned participation in the London conference, despite alleging that it is “fuelling the war.”
The Foreign Minister expressed hope that the German envoy could participate in the Sudanese people’s celebration of Khartoum’s liberation and recapture from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The army has announced the liberation of Khartoum state from the grip of the RSF, having recaptured most of the sites previously controlled by the paramilitary group in the south of the capital after securing state institutions, including the Presidential Palace.
The Foreign Minister stated that “if it weren’t for the large and continuous support from the UAE to the militia – referring to the RSF – the war would not have ignited.”
He asserted that the UAE had calculated the situation as merely a swift military coup that would enable RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo “Hemedti” to assume power.
Sudan accuses the UAE of supplying military equipment and strategic drones to the RSF via Chad. It has filed a complaint against the UAE with the UN Security Council and against Chad with the African Union.
The UAE has consistently denied these accusations, while Sudan maintains it possesses evidence proving Abu Dhabi’s involvement in arming the RSF.
UAE Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Shakhbout bin Nahyan, said on Wednesday that his country has not “taken sides in the conflict.”