Sudan rejected UAE's initiative on the border dispute with Ethiopia, saying border markers should be placed first.
A high-rank official told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that Sudan's Security and Defense Council rejected in consensus the UAE’s initiative during Thursday’s meeting.
He said that Sudan wants to place border markers before initiating any negotiations in this regard. The official also stressed that the Sudanese stance on the border with Ethiopia remains ‘unchanged’.
Notably, both the UAE and Sudan abstained from revealing details of the initiative to public.
At a virtual meeting with the ambassadors of Arab countries accredited to Sudan, Foreign Minister Mariam al-Mahdi said: "Sudan’s position on the initiative depends on placing border markers in accordance with the 1902 Agreement as a basis for any subsequent cooperation or understandings.”
The Minister of Foreign Affairs also presented a briefing on the developments of the issue of the Renaissance Dam, asserting Sudan’s stance in calling for a binding legal agreement on the filling and operation of the Dam.
In another context, reliable sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that a scheduled visit by a Sudanese delegation to Israel was postponed.
Israeli Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen visited Sudan in January, becoming the first Israeli minister to visit the Arab country following the signing of a normalization deal between the two countries.
Cohen held talks with senior Sudanese officials, including Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, head of the ruling sovereign council, and Defense Minister Yassin Ibrahim.
The two parties signed a memorandum of understanding on security-economic-political related issues.
