Trump Turns to Sudan Civil War After MBS Meeting

Welcome back to Foreign policyStatus report. It’s been a busy week in the world, and FP’s news team has been busy with articles about the new (and mysterious) Ukraine peace plan and the Russian envoy linked to it, as well as Trump’s meeting with Mohammed bin Salman and its nuclear fallout.

But we still have plenty more for you in this week’s newsletter, including… Trump He pledged to help end the war in Sudanimpact Penalties on The most important Russian oil companiesand Mexico rose On Trump floating again Strikes on drug gangs there.

After two and a half years of fighting, Sudan’s civil war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) is slowly but surely gaining more international attention in the wake of the massacre in El Fasher late last month when the RSF overran the city.

Although estimates indicate that the conflict killed more than 150,000 people and sparked what the United Nations described as the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, the international community has continued to ignore the war.

During a meeting at the White House on Tuesday, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman urged US President Donald Trump to help end the war. Saudi Arabia is located on the other side of the Red Sea from Sudan, and considers the war there a threat to its national security.

His urging seems to have worked.

“Not on my plans.” Trump – who has been keen to highlight the various peace negotiations he has been involved in during his presidency – on Wednesday effectively admitted that war was not on his radar, and said he saw the conflict “differently” after his conversation with the crown prince.

“His Majesty would like me to do something very strong related to Sudan. It was not my plan to be involved in that,” Trump said. “I looked at it as just kind of an independent business, no government, no this, no that. And [Mohammed bin Salman] She explained the whole culture and the whole history, and it was very interesting to hear that, really amazing to hear, and we actually started working on that.

In a subsequent post on Truth Social, Trump pledged to work with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and other partners in the Middle East to end “atrocities” in Sudan and stabilize the country.

The Trump administration has already engaged in diplomatic efforts with those three countries, as part of an initiative dubbed the “Quad,” to increase pressure to end the war. The Quartet has pushed for a humanitarian truce in Sudan as an initial step, but it has not succeeded so far. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also recently called on countries to take steps to stop the flow of weapons and supplies to the RSF.

The United Arab Emirates, Washington’s main security partner in the Middle East, is widely accused of fueling the conflict by providing weapons to the Rapid Support Forces in exchange for gold. Although Abu Dhabi denies this, UN experts have found the allegations against the Gulf state credible.

More pressure is needed. The situation in Sudan has sparked famine in parts of the country and led to allegations of genocide, including from the United States. The war is also fueling regional instability and driving refugees into neighboring countries such as Chad.

This week John spoke to Charlotte Slente, Secretary General of the Danish Refugee Council, about a recent trip she made to eastern Chad to meet Sudanese refugees. Celente said the situation she faced was “horrific” and called on world leaders to do more to pressure the warring parties to lay down their weapons.

“We need a very sincere effort from the international community to try to convince the parties to stop this war or agree to a ceasefire,” Slenti said. “This is not a war that will end by military means. It needs a negotiated agreement between the parties. This will not be easy – it needs sustained pressure from all parties.”

Read the rest of John’s interview with Celenti about Sudan here.

Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, is scheduled to leave the administration in January, according to a Reuters report. Kellogg, considered among the officials friendliest to Kiev under Trump 2.0, is said to be leaving because the 360-day period in which he can serve as envoy without Senate approval had expired, and he felt it was a natural moment for his exit.

What should be on your radar, if it isn’t already.

Shipping chips. The US Commerce Department announced on Wednesday that it has approved the export of advanced semiconductor chips from technology giant Nvidia to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. G42, an AI company backed by the UAE government, and Humain, a similar company owned by a Saudi sovereign wealth fund, will each receive approvals to purchase up to 35,000 Nvidia Blackwell chips, used to train advanced AI models.

This authorization is the final step in the agreements signed by Trump when he visited the region in May. The Commerce Department sought to allay concerns that the shipments could lead to advanced American technology getting into Chinese hands, saying the approvals were “conditional on both companies meeting stringent security and reporting requirements.”

Confronting China. Speaking of China, this is the time of year when one of the US government’s most comprehensive annual reports on Beijing’s behavior is released. The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission released its annual report to congress on Tuesday, warning that the Chinese government “now possesses a highly charged, state-directed manufacturing base without historical counterpart” that it uses for “economic coercion” around the world. “[Does] Will the United States continue to dominate the escalation in imposing economic restrictions on China? The report concludes that mounting evidence suggests that the advantage may be eroding.

The committee issued 28 recommendations to combat China’s growing technological and economic influence, including creating a new “political-economic entity” aimed at Beijing evading US export controls as well as increasing US investment in quantum, biotechnology and energy security. If you’re desperate for weekend reading, you can read all 733 pages of the report here.

Sheinbaum v. Trump. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has once again made clear that she opposes US military action against drug cartels in her country. “It’s not going to happen,” Sheinbaum said Tuesday.

“[Trump] She added: “He suggested it on different occasions, or said: ‘We are offering you US military intervention in Mexico, everything you need to fight criminal groups.’ “But I told him on every occasion that we can cooperate, that they can help us with the information they have, but that we are operating in our own territory, and that we do not accept any interference by a foreign government.”

Trump has repeatedly brought up cartel strikes in Mexico, including on Monday. “Am I going to go on strikes in Mexico to stop the drugs? Well, whatever we have to do to stop the drugs,” he said.

U.S. Treasury officials were upbeat about the impact of sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies during a phone call on Thursday, a day after the Trump administration appeared to send mixed signals about its willingness to pressure Russia over the war in Ukraine.

“We are seeing tangible impacts,” one Treasury official said, noting lower outbound oil flows from Russia and lower oil prices. A second Treasury official said hits to oil revenues, which Russia relies heavily on for taxes, “will significantly exacerbate Russia’s budget pressures and its ability to finance its war machine.” Both officials spoke on the call on condition of anonymity in accordance with conditions set by the administration.

The senior Treasury official said more data would be necessary to fully analyze the impact, but pointed to positive initial signs: “When you see less crude oil flowing out of Russia, when you see ships parked at sea, unable to unload their cargo of crude because of the imposition of sanctions, that’s a real impact.”

In October, the Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil over what the Trump administration said was Russia’s lack of commitment to the peace process. At the time, Treasury Secretary Scott Besent blamed the failure of the peace process on Russian President Vladimir Putin, and just a few days later called Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev a “Russian motherfucker.”

The sanctions contradict reports on Wednesday that Trump envoy Steve Witkoff is working with Dmitriev to draft a Ukraine peace plan that largely reflects Russia’s extreme demands, including Ukrainian territorial concessions and sharp reductions in the size of the Ukrainian military.—Sam Skoff

Friday 21 November: The interior and security ministers of the G7 countries meet in Ottawa, Ontario.

A trial is scheduled for former US National Security Advisor John Bolton, who is accused of mishandling classified information.

Saturday 22 November: South Africa hosts the G20 Leaders Summit.

Monday 24 November: Angola hosts the EU-African Union summit.

The Interpol General Assembly is held in Marrakesh, Morocco.

100– The number of Rafale fighter jets that France has agreed to sell to Ukraine over the next ten years. It is another example of European countries stepping up their role in helping Ukraine in defence, and comes weeks after Sweden committed to selling 150 of its Gripen fighters to Kiev.

“I wouldn’t have said that.”

– Former US Vice President Mike Pence, speaking at a Chatham House event on Wednesday, regarding Trump’s defense of Mohammed bin Salman over the brutal murder of Jamal Khashoggi. A declassified American intelligence report concluded that the Crown Prince ordered the operation that led to the killing and dismemberment of Khashoggi.