US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday said that he engaged President William Ruto in talks to advance shared interests between Kenya and the US.
Blinken said among the issues discussed included ending the conflict in Sudan and advancing the East African Community-led talks on eastern DRC.
“Spoke today (Sunday) with President Ruto of Kenya to advance shared priorities, including ending the conflict in Sudan and advancing East African Community-led talks on eastern DRC,” he said in a post.
Ruto has been spearheading mediation toward the restoration of democratic rule in the troubled Sudan.
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The Sudanese army has however rejected Ruto’s role in the process.
The Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have engaged in a fight that broke out on April 15, and despite receiving multiple international mediation offers, none have succeeded in ending or even significantly pausing the conflict.
Earlier this month, IGAD, an East African regional bloc of which Kenya is a member, proposed an initiative that would include the deployment of peacekeepers in the capital Khartoum.
The Sudanese army has accused Ruto of supporting the RSF.
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It has said it would consider any foreign peacekeepers as enemy forces.
Conflicts have also been experienced in eastern DRC as Consultative Technical Team meetings involving various stakeholders of the region’s Peace Process have been held to discuss various issues highlighted in the Luanda and Nairobi processes.
The sessions have majorly discussed matters of cantonment and confidence-building measures, among them warring parties in the eastern part of DRC.
Facilitated by former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, the technical team has aimed at finding lasting peace solutions to the conflict.
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