The top US envoy in Sudan said yesterday that conditions have to be "right" for holding talks with Khartoum on removing it from Washington's blacklist of state sponsors of "terrorism", reports AFP from Khartoum. US charge d'affaires to Khartoum Steven Koutsis' remarks came a day after Washington ended its 20-year-old trade embargo on the east African country.

However, the US did not drop Sudan from the blacklist, a consistent demand by Khartoum in return for cooperating with US intelligence agencies in fighting "terrorism".

"This is something that both sides are keenly willing to discuss, but we have to be certain that conditions are right for discussions to remove (Sudan) from the list," Koutsis said at a press conference at the US mission in Khartoum.

"The government of Sudan knows fully well what it needs to do to remove from the list and we hope that those conditions will come soon," he said.

On Friday, Khartoum hailed Washington's decision to end the sanctions as a "positive decision", but expressed disappointment at not being removed from the blacklist.

"Discussion on removing from the state sponsors of terror was not part of our engagement under the five-track plan," Koutsis said, referring to the five conditions that Washington had insisted that Khartoum meet in return for ending the trade embargo.