Sudanese Foreign Minister Muhyiddin Salem accused unnamed local parties of attempting to return to power by promoting allegations that the Sudanese army used chemical weapons. He made the remarks during a meeting on Tuesday in Khartoum with Jean Mazeh Sava, France’s special envoy to Sudan and the Horn of Africa.
Sudan and France discuss transparent relations
During the meeting, Salem called for what he described as “false narratives supported by local parties with the aim of returning to power” not to be adopted. He also said Sudan hoped to establish new cooperative relations with France based on integrity, transparency and facts. The French envoy, for his part, affirmed his country’s desire to establish transparent relations with Sudan.
Sava said Paris wanted to help unite Sudanese people, as the meeting addressed Khartoum’s position on allegations linked to the use of chemical weapons and the prospects for relations between the two countries. Khartoum had announced its rejection of sanctions imposed by the United States based on allegations that the Sudanese Armed Forces had used chemical weapons.
US sanctions cover financing and exports
The additional US sanctions took effect on 20 July and included a ban on international financial institutions providing Sudan with loans or financial or technical assistance, with humanitarian and food aid exempted. The US measures also impose broad restrictions on the export of most US goods and technologies to Sudan.
The sanctions are expected to remain in place for at least a year unless the US administration determines that Sudan has met the legal conditions required for their removal. The measures date back to May 2025, when the United States imposed initial sanctions on Sudan over allegations that chemical weapons had been used during the conflict with the Rapid Support Forces in 2024.
Those sanctions imposed restrictions on US exports to Sudan and limited its access to US government credit lines. Khartoum rejected the US allegations at the time, and in the same month Transitional Sovereignty Council President Abdel Fattah al-Burhan issued a decision to form a committee to investigate them.
The Sudanese foreign minister’s remarks come as Khartoum continues to reject the allegations while seeking to open a new path of cooperation with France based, according to its stated position, on transparency and facts.
