KHARTOUM (AFP) – The United States will start normalising its ties with Sudan once the outcome of the southern Sudanese independence referendum is approved, deputy US secretary of state James Steinberg said Wednesday.

"Once the results are certified, that will allow us ... to begin to take steps towards normalisation, including dealing with the state sponsors (of terrorism) list, as well as deepening our diplomatic ties," Steinberg told reporters in Khartoum after meeting Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Karti.