Sudan hopes US travel ban will not affect sanctions lifting
KHARTOUM/BERLIN: Sudan hopes the revival of US President Donald Trump’s travel ban on its citizens and those of five other Muslimmajority states will not affect the planned lifting of US economic sanctions next month, a Foreign Ministry official said on Tuesday.
The US Supreme Court on Monday revived parts of a temporary travel ban on nationals from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen who lack strong ties with the US but want to enter the country.
Nevertheless, the court said the ban could not be implemented against people who have personal links to the US, citing the examples of foreign nationals wishing to visit family or students accepted to attend university.
“We hope that this ban decision will not affect next month’s decision to lift US economic sanctions, especially because Sudan has completed all the roadmap requirements that were asked of it,” Foreign Ministry official Abdelghany Naeem told Reuters.
The roadmap’s conditions included cooperating with Washington in fighting terrorism, halting interference in South Sudan’s affairs and allowing humanitarian aid to safely reach conflict zones in the region.
In January, the outgoing Obama administration gave Sudan 180 days to improve its human rights record and resolve its political and military conflicts before Washington lifts some major economic sanctions stepped up in 2006 for what it said was complicity in violence in Sudan’s Darfur region.
“We support the United States’ right to protect its national security, but we insist that Sudanese citizens do not pose any dangers to American security,” Naeem said.
Decision ‘regrettable,’ says Iran
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif condemned on Tuesday the US Supreme Court’s decision to partially reinstate Trump’s controversial travel ban targeting citizens from six predominantly Muslim countries.
“It’s regrettable that the citizens of the countries on the list have never participated in any act of terrorism against the US and yet they are being punished for acts of terrorism by citizens of other countries which are not on the list,” said Zarif.
The travel ban “doesn’t help, it doesn’t increase anybody’s security,” added the minister, speaking to journalists after a meeting with German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel in Berlin.