Washington, D.C. —  [Excerpted …]

QUESTION: Yeah, thank you. I wanted to shift to another conflict in Sudan – the worst humanitarian catastrophe in the world – and the U.S. role there, engagement. A Quad meeting had been expected yesterday with the Saudi, UAE, and Egyptian foreign ministers here in the building, and it didn’t happen. I’m wondering if you could tell us about the reasons for the postponement, whether there’s a date, perhaps around UNGA, for a replacement meeting, and whether that’s a setback at all that this has had to be postponed.

MR PIGOTT: Well, no date was set in terms of a Quad meeting here in terms of your first question, and we look forward to bringing the Quad together in the near-future. We hope to set that date soon. But in terms of your last question, we continue to coordinate on our collective engagement. We continue to coordinate in terms of pursuing outcomes, that dialogue continues, and we are committed to supporting that dialogue that leads to peace and ends the suffering of the Sudanese people.

QUESTION: Can you clarify the U.S. position on the Sudanese Armed Forces and their future in a post-war transitional government? Because that seems to be the sticking point for a lot of the external actors – I think Egypt in particular wants to see a role for them. Can you clarify what the U.S. position – is that a nonstarter for you?

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MR PIGOTT: Well, I don’t want to get into the details of dynamic, diplomatic conversations. We think the best path to peace and stability is an immediate and durable cessation of hostilities, and we are in communication with as many partners – the Quad being one of them but not limited just to the Quad – in order to try to accomplish that end.