UNITED NATIONS, May 22. /TASS/. Russia is ready to help settle the crisis in Sudan without interfering into that country’s domestic affairs, Russian Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Anna Yevstigneyeva said on Monday.

"Sudan is a friendly country for Russia and it is maintaining contacts with the Sudanese sides. If need be and if we have a corresponding request, we are ready to help them but will not interfere into their domestic affairs," she said at a meeting of the United Nations Security Council.

According to the Russian diplomat, Russia’s embassy in Khartoum continues to work, despite the serious security threats.

"We call on the Sudanese sides to demonstrate political will and take urgent steps to put an end to the armed confrontation. We insist that any differences can be settled at the negotiating table and the Sudanese parties have enough wisdom and political experience for that," she said.

The situation in Sudan escalated amid disagreements between the army chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who also heads the ruling Sovereignty Council, and the head of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (known as Hemedti), who is al-Burhan’s deputy on the council. The main points of contention between the two military organizations pertain to the timeline and methods for unifying the armed forces of Sudan, as well as who should be appointed as commander-in-chief of the army: a career military officer, which is al-Burhan’s preferred option, or an elected civilian president, as Dagalo insists. On April 15, armed clashes between the rival military factions erupted near a military base in Merowe and in the capital, Khartoum.

On the evening of May 20, in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah, the delegations of the army and the RSF reached an agreement on a humanitarian ceasefire which is to take effect late on Monday. This is the second long-term agreement on a humanitarian ceasefire between the army and the RSF since the clashes broke out. The first one, which was supposed to be observed by both sides for 10 days, in actuality lasted only a few hours.