MOSCOW

The recent developments in Sudan are the result of the government’s "failed policy" that has been pursued for the last two years, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Monday.

"The despair and plight of the overwhelming majority of the population were virtually ignored by the interim authorities and their foreign patrons and consultants," Zakharova said in a statement.

A large-scale foreign interference led to the loss of trust in the interim government, she added.

"The Sudanese can and should themselves solve internal problems and determine the vector of their country's sovereign development based on national interests," she said.

Russia, for its part, will continue to respect the choice of the Sudanese people and provide them with all necessary assistance, she concluded.

The head of Sudan’s ruling military council, Gen. Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan, declared on Monday a state of emergency and dissolved the transitional sovereign council and government.

The move came hours after the military arrested Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and ministers in the civilian government.

Al-Burhan also announced the suspension of some provisions of the constitutional document outlining the political transition in Sudan.

According to the Sudanese Information Ministry, a military force detained Hamdok early Monday after he refused to support what it described as a "coup."

After a failed military coup last month, deep tensions between the military and the civilian administration erupted in Sudan amid recent rival protests in Khartoum.

Before the dissolution, Sudan was administered by the Sovereign Council of military and civilian authorities, which oversaw the transition period until elections slated for 2023, as part of a precarious power-sharing pact between the military and the Forces for Freedom and Change coalition.