NewsRescue
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated on Tuesday that Turkey is “ready to host talks” for Sudan if the warring parties agree to initiate substantive talks.
Erdogan “voiced his sadness and concerns” over the mounting number of victims in the armed conflict that erupted in mid-April during a phone call with Sudan’s Sovereign Council chairman, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, according to a statement from Türkiye’s Communications Directorate.
According to the statement, he also discussed efforts to secure the safety of Turkish citizens in Sudan and to evacuate them from the country.
Ankara would also keep “in contact with the United Nations to ensure that the Sudanese people’s urgent humanitarian needs are met.”
While ceasefire talks between the military adversaries began on Saturday in Saudi Arabia’s seaside city of Jeddah, sponsored by Washington, a Saudi ambassador told AFP on Monday that there had been “no major progress.”
According to the Sudanese Health Ministry, intense combat that erupted as a result of a power struggle between generals of the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has killed at least 550 people and injured approximately 5,000 since April 15.
The United Nations Refugee Agency is seeking $445 million to offer immediate assistance to an estimated 860,000 Sudanese refugees and returnees in Chad, South Sudan, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the Central African Republic.
Erdogan, who is running for re-election as president for the third time on May 14, has attempted to portray Turkey as a mediator in other disputes, including the Russia-Ukraine situation.
In December of last year, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticised the West for “making provocations” rather than acting as a mediator in the Ukraine war, and he emphasised Türkiye’s efforts last year in brokering the Black Sea grain corridor pact.