The UAE has canceled meetings with London’s Lord Mayor and other British officials as a dispute deepened over the Persian Gulf nation’s alleged role in the civil war ravaging Sudan.
According to sources, Lord Mayor Michael Mainelli, the ceremonial head of the City of London, saw plans for meetings with United Arab Emirates officials to discuss green finance this week called off at the last minute.
Similarly, UK Science Minister Andrew Griffith had an invitation to visit the UAE to discuss space cooperation rescinded, according to another person familiar with the situation.
The diplomatic dust-up comes after the UK joined the US in increasing pressure on the UAE to withdraw backing for the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan.
The militia group is threatening to move on a city that’s home to more than 2 million people in western Sudan.
War erupted the east African nation on April 15 last year, when the RSF militia and Sudan’s army turned on each other. That followed months of talks over merging their forces and transitioning the mineral-rich country toward democracy.
The fighting has killed almost 15,000 people and left half of population of 50 million in need food assistance. Some 11 million are displaced internally, and the capital, Khartoum, lies in ruins.
The UAE is a key backer of the RSF, supplying it with weapons and funding, according to a report by United Nations investigators.
The US is engaged in talks with Emirati officials about their role in the war, while the UK has initiated discussions on Sudan at the UN Security Council in New York. Those moves have irked officials from the UAE.
The UAE has reiterated its “categorical rejection” of the allegations in a statement on Tuesday, saying the country was engaging with the US and others to work for a settlement. “This dissemination of disinformation and false narratives by a warring side of the conflict after more than a year of this crisis aims to only deflect responsibility and undermine international efforts to address the humanitarian crisis in Sudan,” the UAE said.
