The RSF commander, who has been at war with the army for over a year, said he “welcomed” Blinken’s invitation and that his party would join the talks.
Previous talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, failed to end the fighting, which has displaced millions, prompted warnings of famine and left parts of the capital Khartoum in ruins.
Subsequent attempts at mediation, including by the African Union, have failed to get the warring parties in the same room as experts say the two forces vie for tactical advantage on the ground.
A brutal war has been raging in the northeast African country for more than a year between the regular army led by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the RSF led by his former deputy Daglo.
The conflict has left tens of thousands dead and uprooted more than 10 million people, including two million refugees across borders, according to the United Nations.
The US-brokered talks will be co-hosted by Saudi Arabia and will include the African Union, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and the United Nations as observers, the State Department said.
But when asked about the chances of the talks succeeding, Miller acknowledged that “we just want to get the parties back to the table” and called it “the best chance we have right now to get a nationwide cessation of violence.”
Both sides have been accused of war crimes, including deliberately targeting civilians, indiscriminate shelling of residential areas and blocking humanitarian aid, while the fighting has forced many humanitarian organizations to suspend operations in the country.
A recent UN-backed report said nearly 26 million people, just over half the population, face high levels of “acute food insecurity”.
Indirect talks between the RSF and the Sudanese military led by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ personal envoy for Sudan Ramtane Lamamra in Geneva this month were described by the UN as an “encouraging” first step.
The talks focused on humanitarian aid and the protection of civilians, although neither side met the other directly.
US announces Sudan ceasefire talks
