Cairo -

In a sudden development in the Sudanese crisis, the United States, Britain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE called for the restoration of the civilian government and the rejection of the coup carried out by the army chief, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, to immediately raise questions about the reasons for Egypt's absence from this four-way statement, and is there a relationship between that and what was raised about the visit Al-Burhan did to Cairo secretly on the night of the coup?

In a press conference on Wednesday, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said that the quartet statement called for the restoration of civilian government in Sudan, stressing that many countries of the world fully agree with his country that "the military's control of the government is unacceptable and must be withdrawn immediately."

In response to a question about why Egypt did not sign the Quartet statement, Price replied, "You have to ask the Egyptians about their position on that," but he did not rule out its role in the discussions on the Sudanese issue.

“The arrests began upon his return.”


The American Wall Street Journal publishes a report on Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan’s series of geopolitical moves before his military coup in Sudan, noting that he boarded a plane to Egypt for secret talks hours before taking his step pic.twitter. com/fiCLRqRtw3

— Monitor Network (@RassdNewsN) November 4, 2021

In a related context, the American Wall Street Journal reported - Wednesday - that Al-Burhan secretly visited Egypt on the night of the coup on October 25, and met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi.

The newspaper quoted 3 informed sources, who were not named, that "Al-Burhan made a series of bold geopolitical moves one day before the coup," and that "the head of Egyptian General Intelligence, Abbas Kamel, visited Khartoum before the coup and met Al-Burhan, and he avoided meeting Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok."

And the newspaper added, "Kamel told Al-Burhan: Hamdok must leave," expressing Cairo's dissatisfaction with Hamdok "because of his openness to Ethiopia in the issue of the Renaissance Dam," according to the sources of the American newspaper.

Neither the Sudanese nor the Egyptian authorities commented on what the newspaper reported, but Cairo had called a few days ago, "all Sudanese parties to exercise restraint and give priority to the supreme interest and national consensus," according to a statement by the Foreign Ministry, while it did not issue official comments or media coverage of the reasons for the absence of the statement. Quadrilateral.

Joint Quartet Statement of Sudan from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United States of America and the United Kingdom, on developments in Sudan pic.twitter.com/QH9wGG5rsS

— US Embassy Khartoum (@USEmbassyKRT) November 4, 2021

not a party

Adviser to Al-Ahram Center for Strategic Studies, Hani Raslan, attributed his country's non-participation in the Quartet Statement to the fact that it is not a party to it, and it is not necessary for it to join the signatories of the statement, nor is it required to identify with the American position.

In statements to Al-Jazeera Net, Raslan - a researcher specializing in African affairs - considered that Washington aimed, through the four-way statement, to send a signal to Al-Burhan that he would not receive economic aid from the UAE or Saudi Arabia, which means using an additional pressure card on him;

To soften his position in the settlement that is sought, and Egypt is not a party to this aid.

As for the reasons for the official Egyptian silence about the crisis, Raslan considered that Egypt’s main goal is the stability, safety and unity of Sudan, due to its long experience in the endless internal conflicts of its southern neighbor, as he put it.

He added that entering into the crisis on behalf of one party against another means gaining the hostility of the other party, and the current situation in Sudan is intolerable due to the great state of fragmentation on regional, tribal, political and intellectual grounds.

In light of this, the Egyptian political analyst stressed that the Sudanese state does not tolerate the idea of ​​trial and error, calling for dealing with the crisis with a degree of caution and patience, and the need for the different parties' approaches and positions to be balanced with everyone.

US State Department Spokesperson: If the military does not reverse their steps in #Sudan, our aid will be at stake pic.twitter.com/aIGHAJu3gS

- Al Jazeera Mubasher (@ajmubasher) November 3, 2021

Burhan visit

With regard to what was raised about Al-Burhan’s secret visit to Egypt on the night of the coup, Raslan said that the matter was just press reports that were not confirmed by official authorities, but at the same time he pointed out that the relations between Egypt and the Sudanese army are close, and are represented in maneuvers, training operations and the exchange of joint experiences.

But Raslan opened the door to the possibility of a visit, saying that if Al-Burhan had actually visited Egypt on the night of the coup, it is not surprising that there was a joint military maneuver witnessed by Sudanese military leaders who were present in Egypt at that period.

It is noteworthy that the Egyptian army and its Sudanese counterpart, in the midst of the current crisis, conducted joint military maneuvers to secure the borders, from October 19 to 28, at the Mohamed Naguib military base in northwest Egypt.

Why did America ignore Sisi in the Sudanese crisis?.. Where is the doctor who resorts to… https://t.co/vKTCWodT18 via @YouTube


Why did they

ignore

him?

— Selim Azzouz (@selimazouz1) November 4, 2021

protocol procedure

In turn, Ibrahim Nawar, a researcher specializing in international conflicts and economic relations, believes that his country's position on the Sudanese crisis stems from "the concern for Sudan's stability and national security, as stated in the official declared position."

In statements to Al Jazeera Net, Nawar attributed the reasons for Egypt's non-participation in the Quartet statement, to the fact that it was not asked to do so by the parties to the statement, but the Egyptian policy towards Sudan remains completely clear, he said.

He added that any country can issue a statement stating what it wants, noting that the four-way statement does not express the position of the UAE and Saudi Arabia, and their position came as a protocol measure at the request of America.

He explained that the position of the UAE and Saudi Arabia is in favor of the advent of an obedient technocratic government operating under the leadership of the military, while it remains logical for those in charge of any military coup to guarantee the support of major nearby powers.