Russia FM: US divided Sudan, should not interfere in its affairs

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said yesterday that the two warring parties in Sudan must negotiate as “geopolitical engineering will do no good,” a hint at alleged US involvement in the African country.

During a news conference at the United Nations, Lavrov called on Sudan’s warring parties to remember how the Sudanese state evolved, blaming the United States for dividing the county into a northern state and a southern state. The Americans should have helped the two new countries coexist, develop their economies, and guarantee their citizens’ welfare, he said, but instead, they imposed sanctions on their leaders, Lavrov added.

“I would recommend drawing the following conclusions from the current crisis in Sudan: let us allow African nations to sort it out among themselves,” he added.

He went on to say that Sudan’s legitimate authorities have the right to use the services of the Wagner group, a Moscow-backed private military company.

“The Central African Republic and Mali as well as Sudan and a number of other countries whose governments, legitimate authorities turn to such services, they have the right to do so, let’s not forget,” Lavrov told a press conference at the UN headquarters.

Wagner Group has been operating in Ukraine, Syria, Libya and some African countries including Mali and the Central African Republic.

READ: Turkiye, Russia, Iran, Syria hold constructive talks