With the continuation of the political talks in Sudan.. Hamidti invites the opposition to participate, and the Norwegian ambassador: The army will return to its barracks

On Monday, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, welcomed the launch of the final phase of the political talks between the Sudanese parties, and while Lieutenant General Muhammad Hamdan Hamidti, Vice President of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council, expressed his hope that the opposition groups would join the dialogue, the Norwegian ambassador said that he believed that the army would fulfill its promise to return to its barracks. .

On Monday, the political parties in Sudan began talks in an attempt to reach a final agreement on forming a civilian government and resolving other outstanding issues, more than a year after the army excluded the civilian component from the political process.

Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the Secretary-General of the United Nations, said that Guterres welcomes the launch of the final phase of the political process towards restoring a civilian-led democratic transition in Sudan.

Dujarric added that the international organization remains committed to supporting the political process and helping to achieve a final agreement in Sudan in the coming weeks.

The head of the Sovereignty Council, Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, had pledged to remove the army from the political scene and the transitional period.

The parties signed a framework agreement with the army last month to start a new political transition that ends with elections, but the protesters criticized the agreement as not representative of everyone, and it left contentious issues for other talks.

The talks will address thorny issues that were not addressed in the framework agreement, such as dismantling the regime of former President Omar al-Bashir, transitional justice, security sector reform, a peace agreement signed in 2020, and tension in eastern Sudan.

Political divergence

For his part, Lieutenant General Hamidti expressed his hope that the opposition groups would join the dialogue, and stressed that these discussions establish a final agreement for the next phase of the political process in Sudan.

In turn, Muhammad al-Mahdi Hassan, a leader in the Forces for Freedom and Change - Central Council and head of the Political Bureau of the National Umma Party, said that the differences over the framework agreement relate to what he described as personal dimensions for those who reject the agreement, in addition to some procedural issues.

He added that the next stage of contacts will be attended by all components of Sudan.

On the other hand, the Forces for Freedom and Change - the Democratic Bloc rejected the framework agreement, and said that it is unacceptable in its current form, and pledged to move the street to bring it down.

The bloc stated that it had stopped indirect meetings with the Freedom and Change Group - the Central Council.

The leader of the Forces for Freedom and Change - the Democratic Bloc, Abdel Aziz Suleiman, considered that what is required at this stage in Sudan is to address the roots of the country's historical crisis, as he put it.

Suleiman added that a smooth transition must be based on the agreement of all civilian and armed components.

International and regional support

For its part, the tripartite mechanism facilitating the dialogue, consisting of the European Union, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the United Nations Mission, said that the framework agreement between the Sudanese forces had received great support from the political forces and the international and regional community.

The Quartet and the Troika (Norway, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States) welcomed - in a press release - the launch of the second and final phase of the political process in Sudan, to restore democratic transition in Sudan.

The Norwegian ambassador to Sudan, the representative of the international mediation, Andrew Stiansen, said in an interview with Al-Jazeera that he believes that the Sudanese army will implement its commitments and return to its barracks.

He added that he believes that there is enough agreement among the components of the people to establish civil rule, stressing that there is no option for everyone but the agreement to move to full civil rule.

In this context, the Turkish Foreign Ministry welcomed on Sunday the launch of the second phase of the political process talks between the Sudanese parties.

In a statement, the ministry affirmed that Ankara attaches importance to the continuation of the transitional process on a broad ground that includes all parties in Sudan, and stressed that Turkey "will continue to stand by the brotherly Sudanese people during the next stage, as it has done so until today."