Utenriksminister Mike Pompeo på en pressekonferanse i Jerusalem, 24. august. Foto: Debbie Hill / REUTERS / NTN scanpix

Tirsdag morgen var Mike Pompeo ombord i den første offisielle flyturen direkte mellom Israel og Sudan, melder Jerusalem Post.

Pompeo was in Israel for talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Benny Gantz following the announcement earlier this month about the normalization deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. He will fly to Sudan and then visit Bahrain and UAE. Pompeo’s trip is part of a US effort to recruit additional countries which will normalize ties with Israel.

I et intervju med avisa mandag sa Pompeo at han ikke kunne diskutere konkret hvilke andre arabiske land som kan normalisere forholdet til Israel, men at flere vil følge etter Emiratene.

“I couldn’t tell you the timing and I couldn’t tell you which countries, but I think as other nations around the world come to see that there is enormous benefit to the relationship – from a diplomatic perspective, an economic perspective, and from a security perspective – I think that other nations will see that it is the right thing to do,” he said. “I think they will also come to see that building out this set of relationships is the pathway that will lead to stability in the Middle East as well.”

Foreløpig har Sudan benektet ryktene om at de vil inngå normaliseringsavtale om kort tid.

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