Sudan.. The Sovereign Council declares the readiness of the non-signatories to the framework agreement for a political agreement to end the crisis

Sudan's Transitional Sovereignty Council said Saturday that "the parties that are not signatories to the framework agreement have expressed their desire to reach a political agreement that ends the crisis in the country," following a meeting held by the council's vice president, Mohamed Hamdan Hemedti, with these parties.

"The meeting discussed the latest political developments, in light of last Wednesday's meeting with the signatories to the framework agreement," a council statement said.

He pointed out that the non-signatory parties "called on the vice president of the Sovereign Council to continue his efforts to bring views closer and bring together the parties, in order to reach consensus on the necessary arrangements to complete the political process."

On Wednesday, a meeting in Khartoum between Hemedti and the head of Sudan's Sovereignty Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, with the civilian forces that signed the framework agreement, resulted in a call for a mechanism to begin "urgently" to draft a final agreement to resolve the country's crisis.

The meeting was also attended by representatives of the Tripartite Mechanism (the United Nations, the African Union and IGAD), the Quartet ambassadors (the United States, Britain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates), and the European Union.

It is noteworthy that the Sudanese Sovereignty Council and civilian components, most notably the Forces of Freedom and Change - the Central Council, signed on December 5, 2022, the "Framework Agreement" to inaugurate a new transitional phase in the country.

The agreement aims to resolve a crisis that has dragged on since October 25, 2021, when army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan imposed exceptional measures, including the dissolution of the Sovereignty Council and the transitional ministers.

However, other forces refused to sign the agreement, including the Forces of the Declaration of Freedom and Change – the democratic bloc that includes armed movements and other civilian political forces, as well as the Communist Party, the resistance committees (activists) and the Sudanese Professionals Association.

Prior to Burhan's exceptional measures, Sudan began on August 21, 2019, a transitional phase that was scheduled to end with elections in early 2024, during which power would be shared by the army, civilian forces, and armed movements that signed the Juba Peace Agreement with the government in 2020.