September 3, 2020 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan requested significant U.S. support to its economy and its removal from the terror list before to normalize diplomatic relations with Israel.

The U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo was in Khartoum on 25 August where he called to normalize relations with Israel.

Hamdok said he has no mandate to do that and asked in a statement issued after the meeting to delink Sudan removal from the terror list and the normalization with Israel.

The visiting top diplomat did the same in a meeting with Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of Sovereign Council was frank and more direct in his approach with him.

Al-Burhan according to multiple sources asked Pompeo to rescind Sudan’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism and to give Sudan nine billion in aid to his country before this normalization.

Pompeo had proposed $50 million in aid to Sudan in his meeting with Hamdok and al-Burhan, according to the sources

Sudan has failed to transfer the $335 million to Washington to pay the compensations for the victims of the attack on U.S. embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salam, as it still faces difficulties to collect the whole amount.

Omer Gamar Eldine, Sudan foreign minister told Al-Tayyar newspaper on Wednesday that Pompeo pledged to remove Sudan from the terror list and calling on U.S. major companies to invest in Sudan, in addition to a modest financial aid.

Jared Kushner - according to Western sources - was the man behind the linking the normalization with Israel and Sudan removal from the terror blacklist.

(ST)