<span>US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in Khartoum on Tuesday on what he said was the first non-stop flight from Israel to Sudan.</span> <span>Mr Pompeo's visit is part of a regional tour after an accord between Israel and the UAE this month, and comes as Israel and the US urge more Arab countries to follow.</span> <span>He met Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and ruling council leader Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan during a brief stopover in Khartoum.</span> <span>They discussed US support for the civilian-led government and for “deepening the Sudan-Israel relationship”, the State Department said.</span> <span>Sudan has been restoring its ties with the US after the removal from power of Omar Al Bashir in April last year.</span> <span>It is pushing to be removed from the list of countries that Washington considers state sponsors of terrorism.</span> <span>Asked if Mr Pompeo would announce a breakthrough in Sudan such as normalisation of ties with Israel or the removal of US sanctions, an official on the flight said: “It’s possible that more history will be made.”</span> <span>The official said Sudan had offered the direct flight, dropping the requirement “that such a flight make a cosmetic stop en route”.</span> <span>But Mr Hamdok told Mr Pompeo that he did not have a mandate to normalise ties with Israel and that the issue should not be linked to Sudan’s removal from the state sponsors of terrorism list.</span> <span>The country is a year in to a 39-month political transition in which the military and civilians are sharing power.</span> <span>Its economy is in crisis and authorities have been pushing to end the US terrorism listing, which prevents Sudan from obtaining financing from international lenders.</span> <span>Ties with Israel are a sensitive issue in Sudan, which under Al Bashir was a staunch opponent.</span> <span>In February, Gen Al Burhan met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Uganda but cast doubt on any rapid normalisation of relations.</span> <span>Sudan announced on Wednesday last week that it had sacked its foreign ministry spokesman after he said Khartoum was looking to normalise ties.</span> <span>Mr Hamdok told Mr Pompeo the matter would be decided after Sudan’s transitional bodies were formed, government spokesman Faisal Saleh said. </span> <span>A legislative body to serve alongside the ruling council and the government has not yet been established.</span> <span>Washington imposed sanctions on Sudan over its alleged support for militant groups and the civil war in Darfur. </span> <span>Trade sanctions were lifted in 2017.</span> <span>After a meeting with Mr Hamdok on Monday, a coalition representing the protesters who helped to topple Al Bashir last year said that the transitional government had no mandate to decide on normalising ties with Israel. </span> <span>The coalition, known as Forces for the Declaration of Freedom and Change, also “emphasised the right of the Palestinian people to their land and the right to a free and dignified life”.</span> <span>Sudan hosted the Arab League conference after the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. </span> <span>The eight countries approved the “three noes”: no peace with Israel; no recognition of Israel; and no negotiations. </span> <span>But hostility subsided in recent years and both countries have expressed readiness to normalise relations.</span>