Sudan’s President of the Transitional Sovereignty Council, Gen. Abdul-Fattah Al-Burhan, has expressed strong support for Russia’s veto of a UN Security Council resolution on Sudan, which he criticized for undermining the country’s national sovereignty. The draft resolution, which was supported by most members of the Security Council, failed to condemn the actions of the militia involved in the ongoing conflict, nor did it address the violation of Sudan’s sovereignty, according to Al-Burhan.
Russia was the only member of the Security Council to vote against the ceasefire resolution, which was jointly drafted by the UK and Sierra Leone. Despite this, China, a close ally of Russia, supported the resolution. Russia’s Deputy Ambassador to the UN, Dmitry Polyanskiy, explained the veto by stating that Sudan’s government should have full control over the country’s internal matters. He emphasized that the resolution’s approach did not respect Sudan’s sovereignty and placed undue external pressure on the government.
The U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, reacted strongly to Russia’s veto, calling it “shocking” that Russia blocked an effort aimed at saving lives, especially given the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Sudan. However, this stance did not deter Sudan’s government, which welcomed the veto, seeing it as a validation of their position on national sovereignty.
In the midst of the conflict, the U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions against Abdel Rahman Joma’a Barakallah, the Commander of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in West Darfur, as well as Osman Mohamed Hamid Mohamed, for their involvement in ethnic cleansing and human rights violations. These sanctions are part of the U.S. efforts to hold individuals accountable for atrocities committed in Sudan, especially in the Darfur region. The U.S. State Department also commended the United Nations for its actions to address the abuses, supporting the broader international push to hold perpetrators accountable.