In wake of Haaretz report, lawmakers demand debate on Israeli efforts to bolster Bashir’s Sudan
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Lobbying israélien pour que les Etats-Unis et leurs alliés occidentaux se réconcilient avec Omar al-Bashir
Haaretz reported Wednesday that Israel has contacted the U.S. government and other Western countries and urged them to take steps to improve relations with Sudan in the wake of the break in relations between the Arab-African country and Iran in the past year.
Senior officials in Jerusalem raised the issue last week during a visit of Thomas Shannon, the U.S. undersecretary of state for political affairs, Haaretz reported.
Citing Israeli officials, the report said one of the messages conveyed to Shannon by Foreign Ministry officials was the need to improve relations between the U.S. and Sudan. The Foreign Ministry believes Sudan cut its ties with Iran about a year ago, that arms smuggling from Sudan to the Gaza Strip has been halted and that Khartoum has moved closer to the axis of Sunni Muslim states led by Saudi Arabia.
Israeli officials said another message relayed to Shannon was that the positive steps taken by Sudan must not be ignored, and that American gestures toward Khartoum could be helpful. One thing Sudan has been seeking in the past year is for Washington to remove it from the list of state sponsors of terrorism. Foreign Ministry officials told the Americans they understand that the U.S. will not lift its sanctions on Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, but that increasing the American dialogue with others in the Sudanese government would be a positive move.
In addition to talking to the American administration about Sudan, in the past year #Israel has held similar talks with France, Italy and other European countries. One Jerusalem official said Israeli diplomats asked their contacts in Europe to assist Sudan in dealing with its vast external debt, which stands at close to 50 billion dollars, and to consider erasing some of it, as has been done with other countries that have fallen into severe economic crisis. Israel warned that an economic collapse in Sudan could further undermine stability in this part of Africa and end up strengthening terrorist elements there.