The Monocle Minute

This week’s US-led Sudan peace talks in Geneva appeared to have lost all momentum before they even began. With so many failed agreements already, mediators had a mountain to climb. Then it became clear that neither side of the conflict was going to show up. The Sudanese Armed Forces had said from the start that they would not attend; their adversaries, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), had sent a delegation but it refused to enter the negotiating room.

The peace summit’s chief organiser, US special envoy Tom Perriello, has insisted that these talks have traction. But do they? The Sudanese have rightly been sceptical of foreign powers that seek out the opinions of expats rather than locals, while sending representatives to glad-hand officials over expensive meals in Geneva. Photo ops of this kind are a world away from the realities of the conflict. Perriello’s public shaming of Sudan’s de facto government for its failure to attend was ill-advised – especially since he hasn’t even visited the country yet in his role to assess the situation on the ground. It has been interpreted as clear evidence that foreign mediators cannot be taken seriously when it comes to representing Sudan’s interests.

By giving a platform to the RSF, whose legitimacy is not recognised by many in Sudan, the US might also be placing itself on the wrong side of history. Worse still, the US has invited a delegation from the United Arab Emirates to participate, even though human-rights groups have unearthed evidence that the country is funding and arming the RSF. Sudan’s civilians see this as a war for resources and influence: the UAE wants control over Red Sea ports and Sudan’s gold mines, and is willing to fund a militia to get it, just as it did during the conflict in Yemen. Meanwhile, Iran is after a piece of those waterways too and has recently repaired diplomatic relations with Sudan’s government, reportedly to trade weapons. The US sees another region falling into a proxy war and is keen to re-establish its influence. But American officials must accept that many nations of the Global South no longer see them as peacemakers but as out-of-touch paternalists.

Leila Molana-Allen is Monocle’s Middle East correspondent. For more opinion, analysis and insight subscribe to Monocle today.

This week, it was confirmed that Ukraine had deployed the UK’s Challenger 2 battle tanks during its offensive in Russia. London’s delivery of 14 tanks to Ukraine in 2023 prompted similar military aid from Berlin and Washington. The vehicles are reportedly in use in the Kursk region. The UK’s Ministry of Defence asserts that Ukraine has a “clear right” to use these weapons for its self-defence, including on Russian soil.

Despite such statements of support, however, the UK has not lifted restrictions on the use of its long-range Storm Shadow missiles for strikes on Russia. According to Kyiv, these are essential for protecting civilians, as airfields deep inside the country are used to store planes that go on to bomb cities across Ukraine. As the conflict continues, perhaps success on the battlefield will bolster allies’ confidence in Ukraine – especially after this week’s concerning allegations that it was a Ukrainian officer who co-ordinated the attack on the Nord Stream natural-gas pipeline last year.

After almost half a decade of coronavirus-related border closures, North Korea resumed international flights for Russians earlier this year but remained closed to visitors from the rest of the world. This week, however, travel operators confirmed that the city of Samjiyon will start accepting other foreign tourists in December, a move widely viewed as a first step towards opening up more of the country.

Samjiyon, a northern city at the foot of Paektu mountain, has recently undergone significant redevelopment. The purported birthplace of Kim Jong-il, it is also an important site in the country’s revolutionary history. North Korea might be trying to use tourism as a way to improve its image abroad but, judging by the tightly controlled visits that it operated before the coronavirus pandemic, it’s doubtful that its new efforts will change foreigners’ minds. There is a clear difference between soft power and propaganda: if the country attempts the latter, it will only confirm the suspicions of outsiders.

A man attempts to inflate a hot-air balloon during this year’s Bristol International Balloon Fiesta, which took place last weekend. Now in its 46th year, Europe’s largest annual ballooning event draws thousands of visitors to Ashton Court Estate who flock to see mass ascents above the city, aerial stunt performances and inflation races throughout the three-day festival.

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