Sudan’s Burhan sets tough terms for talks, challenging Quad mediators

October 18, 2025 (ATBARA) – Sudan’s army chief, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, on Saturday set stringent conditions for any future peace talks, challenging an international mediation effort and vowing to negotiate only on terms that would end the rebellion by the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Speaking in the city of Atbara, al-Burhan sent a mixed message to international mediators. He initially took a hardline stance, stating, “We will not retreat from the pledge we made, and there will be no negotiation with any party,” before laying out his conditions.

“Any party, whether the Quad or others, that wants to negotiate with us on what is right for Sudan and the Sudanese, and ends this war in a way that restores Sudan’s dignity, unity, and prevents any possibility of another rebellion, we are ready to cooperate with them,” he said.

The statement effectively ties any engagement in talks to the army’s core objectives: a complete end to the RSF-led rebellion and guarantees that it will not recur.

His remarks reinforce his previous rejection of a Quad statement from Sept. 12 and signal defiance against what he perceives as “external dictates” that disregard national sovereignty.

The Quad—comprising Saudi Arabia, the United States, Egypt, and the UAE—had proposed a roadmap beginning with a humanitarian truce leading to a comprehensive political process. The plan was welcomed by the RSF but met with reservations from the army.

Al-Burhan also denied that his forces were targeting tribes or civilians. “The enemy is the sole target of the armed forces, wherever it is found,” he said.