President William Ruto (right) meets Sudan counterpart Abdel-Fattah Al Burhan at State House, Nairobi on November 13, 2023 - Courtesy

The President of Kenya, William Ruto, on Monday, met the Head of Sudan Supreme Council, General Abdel-Fattah Al Burhan, who had earlier rejected Kenya’s mediation role in ending the war in Sudan.

In the meeting held at State House, Nairobi, the two leaders agreed on key contention points, including Ruto’s continued chairing of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) quartet.

According to Kenya’s media, the State House also confirmed that the duo agreed on a framework to bring peace to the troubled nation.

The framework aims to mediate a ceasefire between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) led by Al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) headed by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.

“The two leaders reviewed the state of ongoing peace initiatives, including the Jeddah and the IGAD peace process,” the statement read in part.

In October, the two warring factions in Sudan agreed to have peace talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, after Abdel-Fattah Al-Burhan’s faction rejected Ruto’s appointment as IGAD’s lead negotiator. 

Despite the Al-Burhan and Dagalo meeting in the Middle East, the duo failed to signal a truce seven months after the start of the civil war.

“The two leaders underscored the urgent need to find a solution for the conflict in Sudan in the shortest time possible,” Kenya and Sudan agreed on taking the talks away from Jeddah and back to the continent.

Ruto and Al-Burhan regretted the slow progress witnessed in Jeddah and explored ways to accelerate the process towards cessation of hostilities and enhancement of humanitarian assistance.

Additionally, Al-Burhan conceded to having Kenya lead the peace talks under President William Ruto, a position he had previously rejected.

“The leaders agreed to work towards the convening of an urgent IGAD Summit to find ways to accelerate the Jeddah process towards cessation of hostilities,” the statement read in part.

In the earlier disagreement, Al-Burhan had accused President William Ruto of aligning with his rival, General Dagalo.

On Monday, he dropped the reservations and agreed that the Summit would work for an all-inclusive Sudanese dialogue.