This coming Tuesday will see an official Saudi working visit to Washington, D.C., at a sensitive moment for US-Saudi relations. Amidst the usual human rights concerns and regional geopolitics that make this relationship a delicate balancing act, there is currently the added factor of the Sudan conflict—in particular the relationship between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and General Abdul Fattah al-Burhan, leader of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF)—to navigate.
Saudi Arabia has sided with the SAF since the outbreak of Sudan’s civil war in April 2023 and is widely thought, according to France 24 and others, to be supporting the SAF alongside Turkey and Iran. Saudi support for the SAF was apparent as recently as last week, when it was reported that the Saudi leadership and General Burhan had a phone call dedicated to the Washington visit.
Last week’s phone call builds on striking images from this spring, when, in the final days of Ramadan, before Mecca’s Grand Mosque, General Burhan knelt in prayer. Burhan’s first stop, just two days after he and his Islamist allies recaptured Khartoum, was the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This symbolism was not lost on the Americans, and it will be front of mind when the top Saudi delegation lands in Washington this week.
On one hand, Saudi Arabia has positioned itself as a peacemaker, not least as a participant in the Quad group of nations working towards a truce in Sudan. However, that role runs alongside Saudi Arabia’s longstanding alignment with the SAF, to whom they offer significant political and strategic support. There are ongoing concerns in the US administration that the Saudi commitment is not to peace but rather to what it perceives as its own diplomatic and economic interests with the SAF.
On 21 October 2025, the Saudi Council of Ministers authorized the Foreign Minister to negotiate and sign an agreement to establish the Saudi–Sudanese Coordination Council. This built on a meeting between General Burhan and a Saudi delegation on 27 March 2025 in Port Sudan to discuss implementing urgent service projects as part of Riyadh’s reconstruction projects in Sudan.
That Port Sudan visit was followed by Burhan’s Mecca visit, which included establishing a joint coordination council to strengthen cooperation in economic, security, and development fields. The SAF regime then announced the preparation of 100 strategic partnership projects with Saudi Arabia worth over $50 billion, covering agriculture, energy, mining, infrastructure, transport, education, and technology.
Adding to unease around Saudi Arabia’s vested interest in supporting the SAF is the fact that they are backing a force that has repeatedly refused to negotiate. For some in the US administration, it is difficult to equate Saudi’s backing of Burhan, who refuses any outcome other than outright SAF victory, with any genuine peacemaker role. That will add tension to the upcoming US visit.
Also difficult to fathom are Saudi Arabia’s unlikely bedfellows, in terms of SAF supporters, Iran and Turkey. Both countries have made longstanding and well-documented arms supplies to the SAF. The alignment of Saudi Arabia with Iran and Turkey behind Burhan and the SAF greatly heightens US sensitivity and adds to the questioning of Saudi motives and commitment to peace.
There is no doubt that President Trump would like another peace deal and sees Sudan as a potential candidate. Saudi insistence on backing military leader Burhan, who is allergic to peace, will be a major sticking point in this week’s talks.
