Berlin Conference Preparatory Talks Finalized for Addis Ababa April 10–12 Amid Deepening Boycott Crisis

International mediators confirmed on April 8 that preparatory talks for the Third Berlin Conference on Sudan are scheduled to convene in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on April 10–12, ahead of the main ministerial conference in Berlin on April 14–15, co-hosted by Germany and the African Union. The Addis Ababa preparatory session is intended to finalize the conference agenda, determine participant representation, and attempt to manage mounting boycott threats from Sudanese political factions. The National Forces Alliance (NFA) and National Forces Coordination had already announced formal boycotts, citing unfair invitation distribution and exclusion of the SAF-aligned Port Sudan government from a substantive seat. Foreign Policy analysis published around the same time described Sudan's diplomatic landscape as a 'war of wars,' with parallel diplomatic tracks — Berlin, AU, IGAD — each reflecting different stakeholder priorities and none commanding universal Sudanese buy-in. The conference aims to produce a framework for ceasefire negotiations and a civilian political transition roadmap; however, SAF ambivalence toward the conference's civilian track and RSF non-participation remain the principal obstacles to any binding diplomatic outcome from the Berlin process.