Sudan says talks with US in UAE 'serious, frank'

Khartoum, Sep 24 Sudan's Sovereign Council said the talks between Sudan and the United States, hosted by the United Arab Emirates, were "serious and frank."

"The talks discussed a number of issues of mutual concern, top of them removing Sudan from the list of states sponsoring terrorism and other restrictions imposed by the United States on Sudanese citizens," the council said in a statement on Wednesday, Xinhua news agency reported.

"The talks also reviewed a number of regional issues, including the future of the Arab-Israeli peace that leads to stability in the region and preserves the right of the Palestin in establishing their state according to the vision of the two-state solution, besides the role which Sudan is expected to play to achieve this peace," it noted.

According to the statement, the Sudanese delegation is expected to submit the outcomes of the talks to the transitional government bodies to discuss and reach a common vision.

Chairman of Sudan's Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan returned to capital Khartoum on Wednesday after leading the Sudanese delegation to the talks that lasted for three days.

Since the ouster of former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in April 2019, rapprochement between Khartoum and Washington has speeded up despite the outstanding issues.

The United States started imposing economic sanctions on Sudan in 1997 and has been listing it as one of the countries sponsoring terrorism since 1993.

In 2017, Washington decided to lift its economic sanctions on Sudan, but kept it on the terror sponsors list.

( With inputs from IANS )