U.S. presses Quad on Sudan peace, says no military solution
June 3, 2025 (WASHINGTON) – U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau met with ambassadors from the Quad group of nations on Tuesday to discuss the escalating conflict in Sudan, stressing Washington’s view that there is no military solution to the crisis.
Landau, alongside Senior Advisor for Africa Massad Boulos, convened with Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Ambassador Reema bint Bandar Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, and Ambassador Motaz Zahran of Egypt.
Recognizing that the conflict “threatens shared interests in the region and has created a humanitarian crisis,” Landau underscored that the United States does not believe the conflict is amenable to a military solution, a statement attributable to Spokesperson Tammy Bruce said.
The Deputy Secretary stressed that the Quad should “endeavour to persuade the warring parties to cease hostilities and reach a negotiated solution,” recognizing the regional impact of the Sudan crisis. He also reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to working closely with the Quad to address the crisis and discussed next steps, the statement added.
The meeting comes as the U.S. continues its diplomatic efforts to end the conflict that erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The war has devastated Sudan, triggering a severe humanitarian crisis, displacing millions, and pushing parts of the country to the brink of famine.
Such efforts have faced challenges in forging a unified international stance. A UK-hosted meeting on Sudan in London last April, aimed at galvanizing coordinated international action, failed to produce a joint declaration. According to reports from The Guardian newspaper, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE disagreed on the wording of the final statement, reportedly scuttling hopes for a unified diplomatic front. This divergence stems from differing approaches to the conflict:
Egypt and Saudi Arabia voice support for the Sudanese state and its institutions, including the army, and have stated their opposition to any attempt to form a parallel government in RSF-held territory. The UAE, on the other hand, maintains it can only back a civilian-led government and has refrained from indicating a position on a planned RSF-led government.
In a confirmation of the ongoing divergence, particularly between Saudi Arabia and the UAE regarding Sudan, the statement issued after the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Ministerial Council meeting on June 2, 2025, in Kuwait City, conspicuously avoided any mention of the ongoing conflict in Sudan.
This omission was particularly notable, given that the statement did affirm the GCC states’ joint positions on various other regional and international issues, including Gaza, Yemen, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Afghanistan, India-Pakistan conflict, and the Ukraine-Russia war.