MOSCOW, April 27. /TASS/. Russia is calling on the sides of the conflict in Sudan to reach a national consensus and cooperate, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said on RT television on Thursday.

Bogdanov, who is also the presidential special envoy for the Middle East and Africa, said Russia and Sudan always had friendly relations.

"Our minister [Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov] was on a visit to Khartoum. There were very good communication, meetings and negotiations with both the foreign minister and the military authorities. We have always been in favor of national consensus and cooperation between the forces in Sudan - the military and civilian ones," Bogdanov 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, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (also known as Hemedti), who is al-Burhan’s deputy on the council.

On April 15, armed clashes between the rival military factions erupted near a military base in Merowe and in the capital, Khartoum. According to the country’s health ministry, more than 600 people have been killed in the country since the conflict broke out. The World Health Organization reported that the conflict had claimed more than 450 lives with more than 4,000 people suffering injuries.

Thousands of foreign nationals have been evacuated from Sudan in recent days. Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, and France closed their embassies in Khartoum. Many other countries are reducing their diplomatic presence or relocating diplomatic missions to nearby states.