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EU envoys call on Sudan to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine

Monday February 28 2022
Ukrainian servicemen get ready to repel an attack in Ukraine's Lugansk region on February 24, 2022.

Ukrainian servicemen get ready to repel an attack in Ukraine's Lugansk region on February 24, 2022. PHOTO | ANATOLII STEPANOV | AFP

By MAWAHIB ABDALLATIF

Sudan is under pressure from the European Union and the West to publicly condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a “member of the international community”.

Khartoum, whose First Vice-President Mohammed Hamdan Daqlo and a number of ministers visited Moscow on the day Russia launched attacks against Kyiv, has remained silent on the invasion that has been denounced by the international community, including the African Union (AU).

On Sunday, ambassadors of the European Union and western countries in Khartoum called on Sudan to openly censure Russia, a close ally, over the war.

The call was made during a meeting of the diplomats with acting Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Sadiq where they discussed the developments in Ukraine.

In attendance were heads of missions of France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Italy, the UK, the US, Norway, Canada and Switzerland.

During the meeting, the EU delegation enquired about Sudan's position on the Russian attacks, as well as the implications of the visit by Mr Daqlo and ministers of the Sudanese Sovereign Council. 

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According to a statement from the Sovereign Council, the Sudanese Foreign ministry told the envoys that the tour was scheduled before the outbreak of the Ukrainian crisis, and that it aims to discuss bilateral cooperation between Moscow and Khartoum.

Ambassador Robert van den Dool, the head of the EU delegation to Sudan, said they expressed condemnation “in the strongest possible terms” of the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine by armed forces of the Russian Federation.

The delegation, a statement by Dool said, also condemned the involvement of Belarus in this aggression against Ukraine and called on it to abide by its international obligations.

“During the meeting, we called on the Republic of Sudan to join the group of nations and come out publicly in favour of the multilateral rules-based order and condemn in clear terms its violation by the Russian Federation,” the envoys said.

“Particularly, we anticipate with great interest the Sudanese position in the UN General Assembly on the matter”.

The delegations asked Sudan to support the founding principles of international law and the international rules, based on order, that have been violated by Russia.

“We further informed the acting minister that we urge Sudan to join the international community in reaffirming Ukraine’s territorial integrity and stressing the need to find a peaceful solution to conflicts and hold perpetrators of violations of international law accountable,” the ambassadors said.

“We call on Sudan not to follow Russia’s illegal decision to recognise the proclaimed independence of the Donbas and Lugansk regions, and discourage other states from doing so”.

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