Ahead of the forthcoming dialogue in Switzerland this week, the Sudanese army delegation has rejected suggestions including the United Arab Emirates, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad), and the regional bloc.

The action, which is the most recent requirement imposed by the junta led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, might disrupt the US-sponsored Geneva Dialogue coming Wednesday. However, it also represents Burhan’s misgivings about the regional alliance and Abu Dhabi’s role in this conflict with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The US-hosted preliminary meetings in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday and Sunday discussed the subject of participants, leading to the current step.

First, the Sudanese military demanded that no negotiations take place until the RSF opened humanitarian corridors and stopped attacking people. Then it declared that it would not participate in the talks unless the UAE and Igad abstained.

The group has not even received an invitation to the meeting, an insider at the Igad office in Djibouti informed The EastAfrican.

However, the so-called “consultations” between the American side and the Sudanese government delegation in Jeddah ended without any major progress, underscoring the growing divergence of views over the peace process in Sudan.

As per well-informed sources, the junta delegation from Sudan voiced considerable reluctance regarding the participation of specific foreign parties, stating that their existence may jeopardise the process’s integrity. Sudan has charged, and the US has backed, that the UAE is arming RSF and dragging out the conflict.

However, Abu Dhabi denied this accusation, even in a July statement that was presented to the UN Security Council.

Negotiations had concluded “without an agreement on the participation of the Sudanese delegation in the Geneva negotiations,” according to the group’s leader, Sudan’s Minister of Minerals, Mohamed Bashir Abu Namu. “Whether the delegation represents the army according to their desire or represents the government according to our decision from now on,” he stated, was the point of disagreement.

“This matter will be left in the hands of our leadership to decide according to its estimates, and certain details. Many things led us to this decision to end the consultative dialogue without an agreement.”

The RSF should not be granted the same standing as the Sudanese army, which claims to want to be the de facto representative of the country. Locally, the RSF describes the Army as rebels and the Army as surviving members of the Muslim Brotherhood connected to ousted leader Omar al-Bashir.

However, Burhan adds that to show a united front abroad, future negotiations should refer to his delegation as the official government, entitled to use the official government seal and distinguishing from the Sudanese army’s representation.