The Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while reacting to resolutions of the meeting of the Heads of State and Government of the IGAD Quartet Group of Countries that took place on Monday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, said Sudan will not allow the deployment of foreign troops and will treat it as an act of aggression.
The Sudanese foreign ministry, which is allied to the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF), in a Tuesday statement published by the Sudanese News Agency (SUNA), said the presence of the Sudanese delegation to Addis Ababa before the start of the meeting and, its prior contact with the organizer of the meeting confirmed Sudan’s genuine desire to engage in finding solutions to the current crisis.
“And that what was stated in the Quartet’s final statement regarding the absence of our delegation is sheer inaccurate and unrealistic. For the sake of credibility, it was expected that the Quartet’s statement indicates that the non-participation of the delegation of the Government of Sudan is due to its clear objection to President William Ruto’s presidency of the Quartet,” the statement said. “The Quartet’s final statement included a call for a summit meeting of the East African Emergency Forces (EAEF) to consider the possibility of deploying forces to protect the civilians and ensure the flow of humanitarian aid.”
“The Government of Sudan affirms hereby its refusal to deploy any foreign troops to Sudan and will consider them aggressors,” it added.
According to the foreign ministry, the Sudanese government welcomes the summit of neighbouring countries, which will be hosted by the Arab Republic of Egypt on July 13, 2023, to discuss the crisis in Sudan, in line with its position that welcomed the Jeddah initiative.
“The Government of Sudan condemns and rejects the previous statements of the Kenyan President William Ruto, which he repeated in the press conference following the Quartet meetings,” the statement said.
“It also expresses its surprise at the statements of the Ethiopian Prime Minister that there is a vacuum in the leadership of the state, which is interpreted as a lack of recognition of the current leadership of the state, and denounces his call for an air embargo and disarmament of heavy artillery, contrary to his existing direct positions and understandings with the President of the Transitional Sovereignty Council and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.”
“The Government of Sudan considers the above statements as an unacceptable infringement on the sovereignty of the Sudanese state,” it added.
The Government of Sudan also informed IGAD that the lack of respect for the opinions of the member states will cause the Government of Sudan to reconsider the feasibility of its membership in the organization.