Trump vows U.S. help in settling Sudan war, at request of Saudi crown prince

Washington — President Trump said the U.S. is getting involved in efforts to strike peace in Sudan amid an ongoing civil war there, at the request of his “very good friend” Mohammad bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia. 

Mr. Trump made the announcement Wednesday as he spoke at the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum at the Kennedy Center in Washington, one day after a lengthy meeting with the crown prince, known as MBS, in the Oval Office. The State Department has already said the U.S. has been working with international partners, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, to broker an end to the war, but the president said he views the situation “differently now than I did just a day ago.” 

The people of Sudan are suffering from a staggering humanitarian crisis, as the two-and-a-half-year war takes its toll. The power struggle between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, has displaced millions, sparked famine and led to claims of genocide. Mr. Trump said he wasn’t planning to get involved in the years-long conflict in Sudan, but the crown prince suggested he add Sudan to his list of peace deals he has helped broker. The United Nations says what’s happening in Sudan is the greatest humanitarian crisis on Earth. 

“His majesty would like me to do something very powerful having to do with Sudan,” Mr. Trump told his audience at the U.S.-Saudi business forum. “It was not on my charts to be involved in that. … But I just see how important that is to you and to a lot of your friends in the room, Sudan, and we’re going to start working on Sudan.”

The president’s announcement was met with great applause in the room. Mr. Trump said his administration got started on working for peace in Sudan about half an hour after his meeting with MBS concluded Tuesday. 

“And you know we’ve already started working on that, OK?” he said. 

Earlier this month, a State Department spokesperson told reporters the Trump administration was engaging directly with the RSF and the Sudanese army, and called on both sides to “move forward in response to the U.S.-led effort to conclude a humanitarian truce, given the immediate urgency of de-escalating the violence and ending the suffering of the Sudanese people.”

But the president’s push for action draws more focus to the region, while spotlighting MBS’ influence. Mr. Trump has emphasized his excellent relationship with MBS, as well as the “great wealth” the Saudis are pouring into the U.S. 

MBS announced Tuesday in the Oval Office that a planned $600 billion investment in the U.S. from Saudi entities would be closer to $1 trillion. The two leaders also signed what the president called a “historic” and “strategic” defense agreement, and the U.S. will be selling the Saudis extensive military equipment. 

The crown prince’s visit has been filled with fanfare, complete with a military jet flyover, cannon fire and an elaborate White House dinner with some of the richest people in the world. But more meaningful to MBS is what Mr. Trump has said on camera about the leader of the country with a troubled human rights record. 

Despite Mr. Trump’s intelligence agencies in 2018 determining the crown prince ordered the killing of journalist and dissident Jamal Khashoggi, Mr. Trump claimed in the Oval Office that MBS “knew nothing about” it. The president criticized reporters for asking questions about Khashoggi and Saudi involvement in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Families of the victims are suing the Saudi government, and a federal judge reviewing thousands of pages of evidence from the attacks concluded the families can move forward with their case. 

“We have an extremely respected man in the Oval Office today and a friend of mine for a long time, a very good friend of mine,” Mr. Trump said Tuesday. “I’m very proud of the job, what he’s done is incredible in terms of human rights and everything else.”