General Commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan on Thursday decided to release four ministers of the recently dissolved transitional government, official Sudan TV reported.

The released officials included Communications Minister Hashim Hasabal-Rasoul, Transport Minister Ali Jiddo, Youth and Sports Minister Yousif Adam, and Information Minister Hamza Balol.

A number of ministers in the government of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok were arrested on October 25 as ordered by Al-Burhan.

Volker Perthes, head of the United Nations Integrated Transitional Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), is leading negotiations between the leaders of the Sudanese army and the Forces of Freedom and Change Alliance (FFC), the civilian component in the ruling coalition, in a bid to end the crisis.

The UN envoy revealed that the talks had produced the contours of a potential deal on a return to power-sharing but warned it would have to be agreed within "days not weeks" before the positions of both sides harden.

The deal would include Hamdok's return to office, the release of detainees, the lifting of a state of emergency, as well as adjustments to some transitional institutions and a new technocratic cabinet.

Al-Burhan has been under both domestic and international pressure since the army took measures last month to end the partnership between the military and the civilian bloc within the coalition which was overseeing the country's transitional rule.

He declared a state of emergency across Sudan and dissolved the sovereign council and government. The FFC has accused him of carrying out a military coup, which he has denied.

Al-Burhan has said he is committed to the transition and the installation of a technocratic government, but an official announcement still awaits.

In the latest sign of increasing international pressure, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spoke to Al-Burhan on Thursday and urged him to restore constitutional order and the transitional process.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday also held a phone call with Al-Burhan, in which both agreed on the need to accelerate the formation of a government, Al-Burhan's office said.

According to a Reuters report on Thursday, Sudan could form a new 14-member sovereign council soon in a first step by the military towards forming new transitional institutions.

(With input from Xinhua and Reuters)