By Doyinsola Oladipo
NEW YORK, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Sudan on Wednesday said it "upholds its national sovereignty" and called on Washington to engage positively with the African country's government, pushing back on remarks by the US State Department calling into question its legitimacy.
The US withheld a visa for Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan ahead of his scheduled visit to New York for the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations, making his attendance contingent on his agreeing
to a 90-day ceasefire, sources told Reuters.
Sudan's war, which erupted in April 2023 following a power struggle between the military and the Rapid Support Forces, has displaced more than 14 million people and created one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.
US State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said in a statement on Tuesday that neither the Sudanese Armed Forces, the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary nor either of their respective leaders "represent legitimate, constitutional governance for Sudan."
In a statement on Wednesday, the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said it strongly rejected the statement and called on Washington to engage positively with the Sudanese government.
"The government of Sudan emphasizes that any peace initiative intended to succeed and endure must be grounded in respect for Sudan’s sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity, and legitimate national institutions," the statement said.
"It must also address the root causes of the war's continuation — foremost among them, negative foreign interference."
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday described trying to mediate an end to the conflict in Sudan as frustrating.
"We’ve had people agree to things, sign to things, and the commitments are never met," he told reporters in New York. "Every time it seems like we’re on the verge of making progress, one side or the other will back off because they think they’re winning or they think they could win. And there are external actors."
This month, a UN fact-finding mission said foreign weapons, military technology, fighters and logistical networks are helping sustain Sudan's conflict while expanding the warring parties' ability to strike distant civilian areas with drones.
(Reporting by Doyinsola Oladipo; additional reporting by Simon Lewis; editing by Michelle Nichols and David Gregorio)
