Israel FM: Sudan’s relations will be fully normalised later this year
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Salma Hossein
- . February 3, 2023
- . Update: February 3, 2023 6:30 pm
After returning from a quick diplomatic mission to the Sudanese capital on Thursday, Israel’s foreign minister stated that the country anticipates fully normalising relations with Sudan sometime later this year.
Eli Cohen addressed the media following a day-long trip to Khartoum that included high-level meetings with military officials, including Sudan’s current military leader, General Abdel-Fattah Burhan, who orchestrated a coup that toppled the nation’s transitional government in 2021.
The normalisation agreements with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco in 2020 were mediated by the US. “The agreement is expected to be signed this year and it will be the fourth” such agreement, Cohen said.
The announcement could assist Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in deflecting attention from a recent outburst of violence with Palestinians and widespread public resentment over his plans to reform the nation’s judicial system, which detractors claim will seriously undermine Israel’s democratic system of checks and balances.
A victory for Israel would help Sudan’s ruling generals persuade other nations, like the US and the UAE, to provide financial assistance to the country’s struggling economy. The powerful armed forces of Sudan and a well-known pro-democracy movement are still locked in a political impasse.
The Sudanese Foreign Ministry said earlier in the day that full diplomatic relations with Israel would be restored. As part of the US-mediated “Abraham Accords” to establish full diplomatic ties, Sudan joined Morocco, Bahrain, and the UAE in 2020 by signing a normalisation deal with Israel.
The Sudanese people’s strong public opposition, however, caused the process to halt. The fragile democratic transition in the African nation was then upset when the military overthrew the government of Sudan in October 2021.
Cohen claims that he presented a draught peace agreement to the Sudanese people, adding that it “is expected to be signed after the transfer of authority to the civilian government that will be constituted as part of the transition taking place in the nation.”
The Sudanese ministry also stated that the talks aimed to improve military and security cooperation among other areas. In light of a recent spike in violence, it also mentioned the need to achieve “stability between Israel and the Palestinian people.”
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The talks on Thursday also aimed to allay Israel’s worries that a future civilian government in Khartoum might halt the process of normalisation, according to a Sudanese military official close to the negotiations. Speaking anonymously due to his lack of authorization to speak to the media, he claimed that Israel and the US “wanted to ensure that the deal would proceed” even after the military separates itself from politics.
Leading generals in Sudan signed a broad commitment in December to usurp the military and establish a civilian government. However, negotiations to reach a comprehensive peace agreement on the transition are still ongoing, and the generals have not yet ceded their authority.
The Associated Press was earlier informed by three military officials from Sudan that full rapprochement would not happen anytime soon. Since they were not authorised to talk about the talks with reporters, they agreed to speak on the condition of anonymity.
