U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he would work to help end the war in Sudan after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman asked him to intervene.
“We’ve already started working on that,” Trump said at a Saudi investment conference, held a day after he met the Saudi crown prince, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, at the White House.
Trump told the conference, attended by bin Salman and his delegation, that his administration began addressing the Sudan file about 30 minutes after the crown prince raised it during their meeting on Tuesday.
In a later social media post, Trump said the United States would cooperate with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and other Middle Eastern countries to halt atrocities in the region and stabilize Sudan.
The conflict in Sudan broke out in 2023 amid a power struggle between General al-Burhan’s army (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule. The war has unleashed ethnically driven violence, widespread destruction and mass displacement, drawing in foreign powers and raising fears the country could fragment.
According to five people familiar with the discussions, the Saudi crown prince believes Trump’s direct involvement is needed to break a deadlock in talks to end more than two and a half years of war, citing his role in securing a ceasefire in Gaza last month.
The crown prince appeared to appeal to Trump’s self-image as a dealmaker and peacemaker, according to the U.S. president’s own account.
“He mentioned Sudan yesterday, and he said, ‘Sir, you’re talking about a lot of wars, but there’s a place on Earth called Sudan, and it’s horrible what’s happening,’” Trump said.
For Saudi Arabia, resolving the conflict is seen as a national security priority, given that hundreds of miles of Sudan’s Red Sea coastline lie opposite the kingdom’s shores.
“Tremendous atrocities are taking place in Sudan,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “It has become the most violent place on Earth and, likewise, the single biggest Humanitarian Crisis. Food, doctors, and everything else are desperately needed.”