#Sudan's transitional govt is a forced union between the security leaders who seized power from Bashir and civilians chosen by a broad coalition of groups that led protests for Bashir's ouster. Under a deal brokered in July 2019, Burhan heads a joint military-civilian council...
...and acts as head of state. A civilian, economist Abdalla Hamdok, is Prime Minister and head of government, leading a largely civilian Cabinet. The US and some other Western countries use the term "Civilian-Led Transitional Government" (CLTG), but whether it is is debated.
Part of the problem in getting #Sudan's position on the news today is that Sudan's Cabinet claims it had no knowledge of the talks until they were reported in the press. Which raises questions about the extent to which civilian leaders were involved in a major foreign policy move
PM Hamdok returned to Sudan today from Djibouti, where he had gone for bilateral talks. No statement from his office yet to contradict the statement from his Minister of Information:
Reports, including from @AP, suggests the UAE may have played a key role in bringing Netanyahu & Burhan together today. While the meeting was hosted by Uganda's president, during an official visit by Netanyahu, Burhan's surprise engagement took some doing.
timesofisrael.com/courting-netan…
timesofisrael.com/courting-netan…
The UAE was a vocal supporter of the Transitional Military Council (the junta that took over from Bashir), and, prior to assuming leadership of the TMC, Burhan was in charge of coordinating #Sudan's deployments to Yemen, with Emirati support.
The UAE & Saudi Arabia provided financial and diplomatic backing for the TMC and were involved, along with the US & UK, in a facilitating the 1st meeting between the TMC and protest leaders after security forces' deadly June 3 dispersal of the sit-in.
The UAE has maintained its support for the new joint civilian-military government, and as part of that has called for the US to lift Sudan from the State Sponsor of Terrorism list. US officials have indicated talks on SST delisting are underway, but are a "process, not an event."
What does all of this have to do with Israel & Sudan moving toward normalizing ties? Well today's reports, if credible, suggest the UAE may have encouraged Burhan to accept Israel's outreach with the idea that it might improve relations w the US and prospects for SST delisting.
Now enter Israel. Reports suggest the planning for this meeting was kept under wraps for days, with "the Sudanese" asking Israel to encourage the Trump Administration to lift the SST designation in talks that preceeded Netanyahu's visit to DC last week.
Per @BarakRavid, Netanyahu raised #Sudan's SST designation with Secretary of State Pompeo last week.
Today the State Department issued a readout of a call from Secretary Pompeo to Gen. Burhan. It appears to be the most senior call from a US official to a Sudanese official since Bashir's ouster.
state.gov/secretary-mich…
state.gov/secretary-mich…
There is no reference to #Sudan's Prime Minister, or to the political transition toward civilian rule. Pompeo invited Gen. Burhan to DC for a visit, but it is unclear whether he would come alone or with Hamdok, who was unable to meet Pompeo during his Dec. visit (Pompeo was away)
The USG has sought to publicly emphasize its support for a democratic transition & civilian rule in #Sudan. In a meeting 3 weeks ago, Under Secretary Hale discussed the SST issue with #Sudan's Foreign Minister:
state.gov/under-secretar…
state.gov/under-secretar…
Was Hamdok involved in the planning for this meeting between Burhan and Netanyahu? Still unclear, though some accounts say he was. The Foreign Minister, however, says she was not aware of it.
Why does it matter who knew what when, or who called whom? Because this is a controversial move in Sudan and it may prompt a backlash against the government, which is already under serious strain as it seeks to deal with a major economic crisis and various divisions.
Some context on Sudan-Israel relations:
The timing of this meeting, just after the Trump Administration unveiled its Middle East peace plan (which was rejected by Arab League foreign ministers) and also announced restrictions on Sudanese immigration to the US, may add to the challenge of selling it in #Sudan.
Protests have already been called in Sudan. Where will the outrage be focused? Against Israel? Burhan? The govt more broadly? The UAE and/or the US? Will the government find consensus - and make public - on its position re: Israel?
And how will this impact the US deliberations on rescinding Sudan's State Sponsor of Terrorism designation, which alongside a requirement for statutory criteria to be met may also be linked to negotiations on Sudan's compensation to victims of the USS Cole & 98 Embassy bombings?
