Washington Envoy: Negotiators in Regular Contact with the Army

On Monday, U.S. envoy Tom Perriello stated that the ongoing talks in Switzerland regarding Sudan primarily aim to expand the delivery of humanitarian aid and reopen three routes. During an online press conference, he mentioned, “Our priority was to study the mechanism of opening three routes that would collectively allow twenty million people, who are currently entirely or largely deprived of food and medicine, to receive this aid.” He added, “We have therefore prioritized the routes of Dabba, Sennar Junction, and the Adré crossing.”

Perriello confirmed that the Adré crossing “is on the verge of opening, with over a hundred trucks ready to depart tomorrow.” He explained, “This means that we might witness the arrival of food and medicine to areas like the Zamzam camp, where more than 400,000 people are suffering from hunger and famine. That’s why we are here. We are here to achieve results and negotiate hard every day with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the army.”

Perriello pointed out that the negotiators are in regular contact with the army by phone, adding, “It’s a new form of negotiations that has proven to be very fruitful, and we will continue this at least through this week.” He added, “We have twice asked the heads of the delegations if they wanted to end the mission earlier than scheduled, and they were very clear on this point because they believe we are achieving real results together,” noting that the participation of the army will facilitate the negotiations. He added, “The negotiations have made significant progress, but we are not yet satisfied; we are only at the beginning of what we hope to achieve here.” He continued, “We want to work on stopping hostilities, which is more challenging if all parties are not present in Switzerland.”