Mbeki expected in Khartoum to discuss talks with South Sudan May 16, 2012 (KHARTOUM) – African Union’s (AU) mediator for Sudan and South Sudan, Thabo Mbeki, is expected to touch ground in the capital Khartoum within 48 hours to discuss details of resuming negotiations between the two countries, a Sudanese official has announced. FILE PHOTO - AU mediator Thabo Mbeki speaks with media after his meeting with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in Khartoum on April 6, 2012 (GETTY) The official spokesman of Sudan’s foreign ministry, Al-Obaid Adam Marawih, said in a press release on Tuesday that Khartoum was awaiting the arrival of Mbeki “today or tomorrow.”
He pointed out that the visit aims to discuss the date and detailed agendas of the next round of talks between Sudan and South Sudan. Both countries are currently under pressure from the AU and the UN Security Council (UNSC) to abide by the latter’s 2 May resolution which dictated under the threat of sanctions that Khartoum and Juba return within a week to negotiations over oil, citizenship, border demarcation and the status of Abyei region. The resolution also ordered Khartoum and Juba to conclude the talks within three months. Mbeki and his AU High Level Panel (AUHIP) have mediated the negotiations since South Sudan split in July last year and until they floundered dangerously in early April, leading to the outbreak of military confrontations between the two countries along their poorly-defined borders. Khartoum has been insisting that the next round of negotiations accords priority to security issues in the hope of a deal that sees Juba severing its alleged ties to the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement North (SPLM-N) and other Sudanese insurgents fighting the government in the country’s border regions of South Kordofan and Blue Nile. Although Khartoum has officially accepted the UNSC resolution, senior Sudanese officials continue to indicate that they will not discuss other issues unless the security question is addressed first. Meanwhile in Juba, the Chinese presidential envoy Zong Jinghao said following a meeting with South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir on Monday that his country is fully supporting what he described as a mutual desire on the part of Juba and Khartoum to end hostilities and return to negotiations. Jinghao, whose country is the leading investor in the oil sector on both sides of the borders, also said that Beijing supports efforts by the AU and UNSC to bring peace between the two countries. (ST) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "South Sudan Info - The Kob" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/SouthSudanKob?hl=en.
