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Anwar Gargash, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, attends a meeting of the Arab League Foreign Ministers in the Egyptian capital Cairo on March 6, 2019. Image Credit: AFP

Dubai: The United Arab Emirates maintains contacts with Sudan’s interim military rulers and the opposition to help in the country’s peaceful transition, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash has said.

“Our credibility is our means to contribute to enhancing peaceful transition in a way that preserves the state and its institutions in brotherly Sudan,” he said in a series of tweets.

Gargash’s remarks come amid reports that Sudan’s Transitional Military Council (TMC) and the opposition have agreed to resume negotiations after a standoff over a deadly crackdown on a protest sit-in earlier this month, the worst violence since the army’s ouster of long-time president Omar Al Bashir in April.

“No doubt, it is a sensitive stage after years of dictatorship of Al Bashir and the [Muslim] Brotherhood,” Gargash said.

The minister pledged continued UAE support for Sudan’s development and stability.

Gargash praised efforts to resume talks and said the UAE appreciate the efforts of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to mediate the crisis.

“Our lines are open in communication with all sides. Our role has a national and Arab perspective. Its aim is to support stability, political, organised and smooth transition,” he added.

The TMC and the opposition have been engaged in on-and-off talks on the handover of authority to a civilian government since Al Bashir’s overthrow.

The UAE has pledged financial aid post-Bashir Sudan.