U.S. Ties Sudan Removal From Terror List to Zionist Normalization
KHARTOUM (Dispatches) – Sudan does not want to link its removal from a U.S. terrorism list that is hindering access to foreign funding for the country’s economy with normalization of ties with the Zionist regime, Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok said on Saturday.
Sources said this week that U.S. officials indicated in talks with a Sudanese delegation they wanted Khartoum to follow the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain and open ties with the occupying regime of Israel.
The United States is pressing Sudan to establish diplomatic relations with the Zionist regime in return for removal of the Northeast African country from a U.S. list of states that sponsor terrorism.
Sudan’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism dates back to its toppled ruler Omar al-Bashir, and makes it difficult for its new transitional government to access urgently needed debt relief and foreign financing.
Sudan’s interim government took power last year after Bashir was overthrown by the army following mass popular protests. It is set to remain in office until elections in 2022.
Hamdok said Sudan had told U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during a visit last month it was necessary to separate the removal from the U.S. list from the normalization of relations with the occupying regime.
"This topic (ties to the Zionist regime) needs a deep discussion of the society,” he told a conference in Khartoum to discuss economic reforms.
Even if a normalization deal is struck between Sudan and the Zionist regime, the U.S. Congress must still pass a necessary legislation to restore Sudan’s sovereign immunity.
In February, Sudan’s ruling council head Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan met with Zionist prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Uganda, sparking anger among politicians and public at home, where anti-Zionist and pro-Palestine sentiments run high.
Sudan has been widely tipped to be the next Arab country that would normalize ties with the occupying regime after the UAE and Bahrain agreed to do so as part of U.S.-brokered agreements.
Palestinians, who seek an independent state in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, with East al-Quds as its capital view the deals as betrayal of their cause.
Sources said this week that U.S. officials indicated in talks with a Sudanese delegation they wanted Khartoum to follow the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain and open ties with the occupying regime of Israel.
The United States is pressing Sudan to establish diplomatic relations with the Zionist regime in return for removal of the Northeast African country from a U.S. list of states that sponsor terrorism.
Sudan’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism dates back to its toppled ruler Omar al-Bashir, and makes it difficult for its new transitional government to access urgently needed debt relief and foreign financing.
Sudan’s interim government took power last year after Bashir was overthrown by the army following mass popular protests. It is set to remain in office until elections in 2022.
Hamdok said Sudan had told U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during a visit last month it was necessary to separate the removal from the U.S. list from the normalization of relations with the occupying regime.
"This topic (ties to the Zionist regime) needs a deep discussion of the society,” he told a conference in Khartoum to discuss economic reforms.
Even if a normalization deal is struck between Sudan and the Zionist regime, the U.S. Congress must still pass a necessary legislation to restore Sudan’s sovereign immunity.
In February, Sudan’s ruling council head Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan met with Zionist prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Uganda, sparking anger among politicians and public at home, where anti-Zionist and pro-Palestine sentiments run high.
Sudan has been widely tipped to be the next Arab country that would normalize ties with the occupying regime after the UAE and Bahrain agreed to do so as part of U.S.-brokered agreements.
Palestinians, who seek an independent state in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, with East al-Quds as its capital view the deals as betrayal of their cause.