Trump faces new diplomatic challenge: What Saudi crown prince requested
Donald Trump, President of the US (photo: Getty Images)
US President Donald Trump has pledged to step up efforts to bring peace to Sudan after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman urged him to intervene in the conflict, according to AP.
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday, November 19, that he would devote more attention to finding ways to end Sudan’s brutal civil war after Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called on him to take action.
Trump admitted that the conflict wasn’t on his agenda before speaking with the prince, but after their meeting at the White House on Tuesday, he discussed the situation in Sudan in detail and received a request from bin Salman to use the powers of the presidency to help stop the war.
“His majesty would like me to do something very powerful having to do with Sudan,” Trump said during a joint appearance with the prince before American and Saudi business leaders.
According to Trump, Prince Mohammed stressed that ending the war in Sudan would be the greatest achievement, surpassing anything Trump had accomplished in office so far.
The American president also said that his administration plans to work with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, and other Middle Eastern partners to end the violence and stabilize the country.
What is known about the war in Sudan
The war in Sudan, ongoing since April 2023, is a conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Over more than two years of fighting, more than 40,000 people have been killed, and over 14 million have been forced to flee their homes, creating one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. Recent fighting - including the RSF’s capture of el-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur - has caused hundreds of new casualties and mass displacement, deepening the humanitarian catastrophe.
The war has also divided regional powers: Egypt, Türkiye, and Saudi Arabia back the Sudanese army, while the UAE - a close US ally - supplies arms to the RSF, according to US intelligence.
Crown Prince Mohammed’s visit to Washington, his first in seven years, provided a platform to discuss not only regional security but also humanitarian aid and efforts to stabilize Sudan.
Trump as a peacemaker
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that he has ended at least seven or eight wars.
However, experts and journalists note that this is an exaggeration, as many of the conflicts he claims to have resolved were not actual full-scale wars, or the peace achieved was only temporary agreements rather than a comprehensive solution.
The US and Russia are currently discussing the development of a new plan to end the war in Ukraine.
Recently, Donald Trump said he would be willing to meet with Putin only if an agreement to end the war is reached.
