Dautovic: Strong Turkish influence on Sudan – Unexpected decision to recognize Kosovo amid Civil War

Foreign policy analyst Mirko Dautovic emphasized that Sudan's decision to recognize Kosovo's independence amid an ongoing civil war was highly unexpected.

Dautovic sees two external reasons behind Sudan’s recognition of Kosovo:

“One is Behgjet Pacolli, former Foreign Minister of Kosovo and multimillionaire, who has spent the last six months touring Africa, lobbying for the recognition of Kosovo. One of the outcomes of these efforts was Kenya's recognition of Kosovo a month ago,” he said.

The second reason, according to Dautovic, is Turkey's influence on Sudan.

“Although it’s not entirely clear to me why Turkey would be focusing on Kosovo’s recognition at this particular moment, it is a fact that Turkey supports the government of General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in Sudan’s civil war. Evidence of this includes the presence of General al-Burhan at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, which gathered many world leaders, and the fact that Turkey is supplying the Sudanese army in the civil war—including with Bayraktar drones. That points to strong Turkish influence on Sudan,” Dautovic explained.

He believes that a broader campaign for Kosovo’s recognition is underway and expects more countries to follow.

“Besides Ankara and Pacolli, I see no reason for Sudan to engage in recognizing Kosovo. In this context—Kenya's move last month, now Sudan—I believe we are witnessing an ongoing campaign. Whether driven by Pacolli, Turkey, or the UAE… these are my hypotheses about who is behind the recognition. In any case, some external actor is certainly involved. I assume there will be more to come,” he concluded.