Saudi Arabia, Russia watching Sudan with concern

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Saudi Arabia said on Wednesday it is watching developments in Sudan with great concern and it supports continued dialogue between the ruling military council and the opposition.

Saudi Arabia has close ties to the council, which has taken control of Sudan since the overthrow of President Omar al-Bashir in April.

Talks between the military and the opposition, which seeks a leading civilian role in a transition to democracy, have broken down. About 60 people have been killed in a crackdown on protestors by security forces since Monday, the oppostion says.

“The Kingdom hopes that all parties in Sudan will choose wisdom and constructive dialogue to preserve security and stability in Sudan, protect the people of Sudan from all harm, while maintaining Sudan’s interests and unity,” a statement on the official Saudi Press Agency said on Wednesday.

“The Kingdom affirms the importance of resuming the dialogue between the various parties in Sudan to fulfill the aspirations of the brotherly Sudanese people.”

Sudan’s opposition Democratic Alliance of Lawyers on Tuesday urged “some Arab countries” not to interfere in Sudanese affairs and to drop their support for the military council – comments apparently aimed at Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.

Transitional Military Council Head Abdel Lieutenant General Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo have ties to the two Gulf states through the participation of Sudanese troops in the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen’s civil war.

Russia said on Thursday it opposed foreign intervention in Sudan and the authorities in Khartoum must subdue what it described as extremists, Russia’s RIA news agency reported.

Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov was quoted as saying that Moscow favoured a national dialogue about a transition period leading to new elections.

“Naturally, in order to do that, you need for order to be imposed, and you need to fight against extremists and provocateurs who don’t want the stabilisation of the situation,” RIA quoted Bogdanov as saying.

“That’s the situation right now, but we are against any external intervention, the imposition of anything on the Sudanese,” he was quoted as saying.

He did not identify which groups he considered to be extremists and provocateurs.

Members of Sudan’s ruling military council are close to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, while Russia has worked with Saudi Arabia’s arch foe Iran in several areas, including in Syria.

On Monday, security forces in Sudan raided a protest camp that had gathered opposition supporters calling for a transition to democracy. Medics linked to the opposition said at least 108 people had been killed in the raid and subsequent unrest.