Pompeo in Sudan presses to improve relations with Israel
CAIRO — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Sudan on Tuesday to push for normalizing ties with Israel, building on momentum from the recent historic agreement to establish relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.
The Sudanese transitional government said, however, that it does not have a mandate to establish diplomatic ties with Israel. It called on the President Donald Trump administration not to make the removal of Sudan from a U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism contingent upon normalizing relations with Israel.
Sudan is on a fragile path to democracy after the popular uprising led the military to overthrow autocratic leader Omar al-Bashir in April 2019. A military-civilian government now rules the country, with elections possible in late 2022.
The transitional authorities are desperate to have sanctions lifted that are linked to its listing by the U.S. as a terror sponsor. That would be a key step toward ending its isolation and rebuilding its battered economy, which has plunged in recent months, threatening to destabilize the political transition.
Pompeo is the first U.S. secretary of state to visit the African country since 2005, when Condoleezza Rice visited. He also is the most senior U.S. official to visit the African country since last year’s ouster of al-Bashir.
Pompeo arrived from Israel and while he was still airborne he tweeted: “Happy to announce that we are on the FIRST official NONSTOP flight from Israel to Sudan!”
His flight was the first direct trip between Tel Aviv to the Sudanese capital, Khartoum. Pompeo was in Israel on Monday on the first stop of his multicountry tour in the region. The trip follows the Aug. 13 agreement between Israel and the UAE to establish diplomatic ties.
Pompeo met Tuesday with Sudanese Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, the head of the ruling sovereign council, and Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok,
Hamdok later described his meeting with Pompeo as
“great” and tweeted in English that they had a “direct & transparent conversation” about removing Sudan from the U.S. terror list, bilateral relations and the U.S. government’s support for the civilian-led transitional government in Sudan.
“The transitional government does not have the mandate … to decide on normalization with Israel. This matter will be decided after the completion of the transitional authority,” Information Minister Fasial Saleh said. He was referring to the legislative body that has yet to be formed.
The sovereign council said Pompeo also met with Burhan but did not give details. A Sudanese military official said their talks focused on “the next step toward normalization and incentives that Sudan will gain.” He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief reporters.
“Great to be in Khartoum for meetings with the civilian-led transitional government. The democratic transition underway is a once in a generation opportunity for the people of Sudan,” Pompeo tweeted.
Pompeo’s discussions with the Sudanese leaders marked the “continued deepening of the Israel-Sudan bilateral relationship,” State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said.
She said Pompeo also urged the Sudanese premier to provide protection to civilians in the Darfur region, which has seen a spate of armed attacks that killed dozens of people.
A Sudanese government official told The Associated Press last week that deliberations between Sudanese and Israeli officials have been going on for months, with the help of Egypt, the UAE and the U.S.