Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman plans to urge U.S. President Donald Trump to personally step in to help end Sudan’s war during talks in Washington on Tuesday, five people familiar with the discussions said.
The sources – two Arab diplomats and three Western diplomats – said the crown prince believes only direct pressure from Trump can unlock stalled efforts to halt more than two and a half years of fighting, noting his role in brokering a ceasefire in Gaza last month.
The Sudan conflict erupted in 2023 out of a power struggle between General al-Burhan’s army (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) ahead of a long-promised transition to civilian rule. The war has unleashed ethnically driven killings, widespread destruction and mass displacement, sucked in foreign powers and raised fears Sudan could fragment.
In recent months, both the RSF and the SAF have increasingly turned to drone warfare, contributing to a sharp rise in civilian casualties.
By putting Sudan on the agenda with Trump, Riyadh is trying to tap into the U.S. president’s self-image as a dealmaker and peacemaker, the sources said. Trump has repeatedly pointed to his efforts to resolve global crises and has publicly sought recognition such as a Nobel Peace Prize.
Saudi Arabia’s government media office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. News of Riyadh’s intention to raise Sudan with Trump was first reported by the Middle East Eye website.
The United States, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt form an informal grouping known as the Quad, set up to help resolve the Sudan conflict, but it has so far yielded few concrete steps toward peace.
For Saudi Arabia, stabilising Sudan is closely tied to national security, with hundreds of kilometres of Sudanese shoreline facing the kingdom across the Red Sea.
Rivalries among Gulf oil producers also loom large in the background.
‘WE NEED ACTIONABLE RESULTS,’ RUBIO SAYS
The UAE has been widely accused of supporting the RSF, Abu Dhabi has denied backing the group.
Saudi Arabia and Egypt are generally viewed as being closer to the SAF.
Asked last week about the UAE’s role, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed impatience with the Quad, while stopping short of blaming any particular party.
“This needs to stop … We’re not going to let the Quad process that we’ve set up be a shield that people hide behind and say, ‘Well, we’re involved with the Quad. We’re trying to solve it.’ We need actionable results, and they need to happen very quickly,” he said.
Earlier this month, the RSF accepted a U.S.-backed proposal for a humanitarian ceasefire after global outrage over reports that its fighters had killed large numbers of civilians while seizing al-Fashir.
The SAF has yet to sign on to the truce, which, if implemented, could open a brief window to scale up desperately needed humanitarian aid deliveries.
