{{The United States Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday phoned his Sudanese counterpart Ali Kart to inform him officially of President Barack Obama’s decision to appoint Ambassador Donald Booth as his special envoy for north and south Sudan.}}
the White House made the announcement on Booth’s pick while stressing that “supporting peace between and within Sudan and South Sudan remains a priority” for his administration.
It noted Booth’s experience with African affairs given his tenures in Ethiopia, Liberia and Zambia.
According to Sudan official news agency (SUNA), Kerry told Karti that the new envoy will be tasked mainly with helping resolve outstanding issues between north and south Sudan as well as improving bilateral relations between Washington and Khartoum.
The Sudanese top diplomat on his end expressed hope that Booth will focus on steps to normalize ties that would eventually result in fulfilling previous pledges by the Obama administration of removing Sudan’s name from the list of states that sponsor terrorism and lifting economic sanctions.
Prior to South Sudan’s referendum on statehood in early 2011, Washington promised Khartoum to delist Sudan from terrorism-sponsoring states if it facilitates the vote and let it be conducted peacefully.
South Sudanese voted overwhelmingly in favor of creating their own state and Sudan was the first country to swiftly to recognize their new neighbor.
But conflicts that emerged later in Abyei, South Kordofan and Blue Nile prompted the US to shy away from its earlier promises much to the frustration of Sudanese officials.
In 1993 Sudan was placed in the US terrorism list on allegations of harboring Islamist militants working against regional and international targets. Despite close cooperation on counterterrorism issues over the last decade which Washington repeatedly acknowledged, Khartoum remained on this blacklist.
Sudan is also subject to comprehensive economic sanctions since 1997 over terrorism charges and human right abuses. Further sanctions, particularly on weapons, have been imposed since the 2003 outbreak of violence in the western Darfur region.
Neither the White House nor Kerry made any reference to the prospects of lifting sanctions on Sudan in their statements regarding Booth’s appointment.
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