Breaking the silence on his Monday meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu in Uganda, Sudan’s transitional leader, Lt. Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, said its aim was protecting his country’s national security.
“I took this step from the standpoint of my responsibility to protect the national security of Sudan and achieve the supreme interests of the Sudanese people,” al-Burhan said in a statement issued after he briefed Sudan’s ruling body about his meeting in Uganda on Monday.
The Palestinian were furious to learn of the meeting, news of which was covered extensively by Israeli media, saying Sudan had “stabbed the Palestinians in the back.” But in what was his first official confirmation of the event, al-Burhan said nothing had changed in the country’s position on the Palestinian cause.
He added that the discussion of Sudanese-Israeli relations and their development was the responsibility of the relevant authorities.
The surprise meeting sparked controversy in Sudan, as the government said it was not notified of it ahead of time and critics lambasting the talks on social media.
Moderate Sudanese lawmakers, however, said the meeting would improve Sudan’s standing with the United States.
For Israel, it was a major diplomatic breakthrough with a Muslim-majority African state, two days after the Arab League rejected U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposal onIsraeli-Palestinian peace.
This article originally appeared in Israel Hayom.