The head of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council, Abdel-Fattah Al-Burhan, said that it is not possible to separate the removal of Sudan from the American list of states sponsoring terrorism and normalization with Israel, denying that his country was subjected to American blackmail or pressure from the Gulf countries that printed with Tel Aviv.
In an interview with state television on Monday evening, al-Burhan added that the agreement with Israel is "a peace agreement in the interest of all parties."
He added that the normalization agreement announced by US President Donald Trump a few days ago motivates decision-makers in the United States to remove Sudan from the list of terrorism, and to deal with it as an active member of the international community.
He indicated that Khartoum would sign an agreement with Tel Aviv regarding aspects of cooperation in areas including technology, agriculture and migration.
In the direct interview with the official television, the head of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council said, "We have not been subjected to any blackmail in the issue of normalization. We have interests in that ... Removing our name from the list of countries sponsoring (terrorism) will make us return to the world and benefit economically and get technology."
Referring to the UAE and Bahrain, he said that the Gulf states that normalized their relations with Israel did not put pressure on Sudan to normalize its relations with Israel.
Al-Burhan explained that his country has been greatly affected by the sanctions that were imposed on it for many years, referring to the US sanctions imposed on Sudan since 1993.
On Sunday, the Sudanese cabinet revealed that the United States stipulated during the visit of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Khartoum last August that Sudan normalize relations with Israel to be removed from its list of states sponsoring terrorism.
Recommendation for normalization
On the recommendation of the agreement, which a Sudanese newspaper said will be signed next December in Washington, the head of the Sovereignty Council in Sudan stated that it will be presented to the transitional legislative council after its formation.
In this context, al-Burhan said, "We have a draft agreement that we will present to the three components: the Sovereignty Council, the Council of Ministers, the Forces of Freedom and Change Declaration, as well as the armed movements that signed the Peace Agreement, and then it will be presented to the Legislative Council."
He added that 90% of the political forces did not oppose normalization with Israel when consulting with it.
Al-Burhan also said that he consulted with the leader of the nationalist Umma Party, Sadiq al-Mahdi, who stipulated that the Legislative Council ratify the agreement.
And Al-Mahdi confirmed in a statement issued on Saturday that the normalization of the transitional authorities in his country with Israel contradicts the supreme national interest and the popular position.
In the same statement, the Sudanese leader announced his withdrawal from participating in a conference of the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Endowments in the capital, Khartoum, in protest against the normalization agreement.
Several Sudanese parties have condemned the agreement, including the People's Congress and the Baath Party, while other parties and some armed movements welcomed it.