KHARTOUM
By Nabil Selim
Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Karti received a phone call from U.S. counterpart John Kerry in which the two top diplomats discussed means of improving bilateral relations, the Sudanese Foreign Ministry said Thursday.
In a statement, the ministry added that Kerry had expressed his country's desire to hold direct talks with Sudan to discuss a number of outstanding issues.
"Karti drew Kerry's attention to U.S. pledges [made] to Sudan – pledges that were never honored," the ministry asserted.
It added that the two ministers had agreed to maintain dialogue in the days ahead.
Washington's relations with the government of Sudanese President Omar al-Bahsir have deteriorated since 1989, when the latter assumed power in an Islamist-backed military coup.
Washington listed Khartoum as a "state sponsor of terrorism" in 1993, paving the way for economic sanctions imposed on the country four years later.
Ever since, successive U.S. presidents have renewed the sanctions on an annual basis.
On Saturday, the U.S. State Department renewed the sanctions imposed on Sudan for another year.
Khartoum, for its part, denounced the move, describing it as "contradictory."
Washington sponsored a peace agreement between Sudan and South Sudan in 2005. The agreement opened the door for the independence of South Sudan in a national referendum held six years later.
Shortly afterward, the U.S. said it was ready to take Sudan off the list of state sponsors of terrorism, provided the country did not impede the independence of South Sudan; improved its human rights record; and ended its conflict with rebel groups in the western Darfur region.
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