Remarks on Israel ties
TLTP
KHARTOUM
Sudan’s foreign ministry spokesman has been fired on Wednesday for comments he made about the African nations’ future relationship with Israel.
Sudan’s acting Foreign Minister Omar Qamar Al Din said he dismissed Haider Badawi from his post after Badawi said to media outlets on Tuesday that Sudan was “looking forward to concluding a peace agreement with Israel.”
“Foreign Minister Omar Qamareddin has dismissed Haider Badawi from his position as spokesman and head of the media division” at the ministry, according to a statement by the official SUNA news agency.
Sudan’s foreign ministry said it was astonished by remarks from its own spokesman saying Khartoum had “contacts” with Israel.
The ministry insisted that the government had not discussed the possibility of diplomatic relations with Israel.
Haider Badawi, the ministry’s spokesman, in comments given to international media on Tuesday praised the UAE’s decision to normalise relations with Israel as “a brave and bold step”.
Under the US-brokered accord announced last week, the UAE will become the third Arab country to forge full relations with Israel in more than 70 years. The pact could reshape Middle East politics from the Palestinian issue to the containment of Iran and other Arab states are expected to make similar accords.
In February, Israeli officials said Israel and Sudan had agreed to move towards forging normal relations for the first time during a meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, the head of Sudan’s military-led transitional sovereign council, in Uganda. There was also a discussion about allowing Israeli flights through Sudanese airspace.
