(Bloomberg) -- Israel is uncertain over the future of its recently established ties with Sudan following the African nation’s coup, Deputy Foreign Minister Idan Roll said Monday.
“I think it’s just too soon to determine whether or not we will have a partner to continue on our efforts with the Abraham Accords,” Roll told reporters in Jerusalem. “We are looking closely, but things still haven’t stabilized. It’s still a very delicate situation.”
Sudan agreed to normalize diplomatic ties with Israel last year as part of a deal brokered by the Trump administration that also saw the U.S. revoke the country’s 27-year listing as a state sponsor of terrorism.
Normalization, which was strongly backed by Sudan’s army, was one of many points of contention between the civilian and military wings of the transitional government that had been ruling the country after the 2019 ouster of dictator Omar al-Bashir.
Those tensions exploded early last week when the army arrested the prime minister and his colleagues and announced plans for a new government. The steps drew swift condemnation from the United Nations, U.S. and African Union and sparked mass protests on Sudan’s streets. Diplomatic efforts are underway to end the crisis.
“It’s really just not up to us at this point,” said Roll, who met with Sudan’s justice minister in Abu Dhabi last month. “I don’t think that there’s enough clarity there even for us to declare our position in the matter and where this is heading.”
The factions of Sudan’s government had also been at odds over how to proceed with a planned Russian naval base on Sudan’s Red Sea coast.
Sudan’s army chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, told the Russian state-owned Sputnik news agency in an interview published Monday that his country was committed to implementing the agreement to create the base.
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