President Trump said he will work on peace for Sudan after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman asked for him to use his “power and influence.”
The crown prince was in the U.S. to meet with Mr. Trump at the White House and participate in the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum in Washington.
“His Majesty would like me to do something very powerful having to do with Sudan,” Mr. Trump said at the forum. “It was not on my charts to be involved in that.”
“I thought it was just something that was crazy and out of control, but I just see how important that is to you and a lot of your friends in the room,” he said.
The administration has painted Mr. Trump as a peacemaker, and he often touts that he has ended eight wars.
Over 40,000 have been killed in the ongoing war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The fighting started over two years ago, in April 2023.
According to Mr. Trump, the crown prince told him that ending the war in Sudan “would be the greatest thing you can do, that would be greater than what you’ve already done.”
In a social media post later, the president said other Arab leaders besides the crown prince also have asked him to get involved.
“It is considered a Great Civilization and Culture, unfortunately gone bad, but one that can be fixed with the cooperation and coordination of Countries, including those in the Region of tremendous Wealth, who want this to happen,” Mr. Trump wrote.
He said the administration will work with Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt and other countries to end the fighting in Sudan and stabilize the country.
Massad Boulos, U.S. senior advisor for Arab and African affairs, said in a social media post that the U.S. is working with others to “facilitate a humanitarian truce and bring an end to external military support to the parties, which is fueling the violence. With peace and stability, the Sudanese people can return to civilian-led governance in a unified Sudan.”
Over 14 million people have been displaced due to the war in Sudan, and it has become known as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
While Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey have backed the Sudanese Armed Forces, the United Arab Emirates has been sending weapons to the RSF, according to U.S. intelligence findings.
Earlier this month, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that “something needs to be done to cut off the weapons and the support that the RSF is getting as they continue with their advances.”
“But the solution to it is not to fight a war where civilians literally are being targeted for rape, sexual violence, and murder, and that’s what happening,” he said.
