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Sudan, South Sudan agree to set timeline for issues
Omar al-Bashir and Salva Kiir try to push forward on stalled security, oil and border agreements.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, who hosted and helped mediate the talks, said he was “very much satisfied” with the progress of the meeting.
“I am very happy that the bottlenecks are now released and the implementation can resume,” he told reporters.
Tensions have been high between former civil war foes al-Bashir and Kiir after the latest in a string of accusations that Sudan had bombed South Sudan. However, they were seen to smile and shake hands after their meeting on Saturday alongside Mbeki and Hailemariam. The presidents of the two Sudans did not speak to reporters.
Kiir and al-Bashir arrived in Ethiopia on Friday, one day after South Sudan accused Sudan of waging fresh attacks along their disputed border, but they first met separately only with mediators. South Sudan’s chief negotiator Pagan Amum called the alleged ground attacks and aerial bombardment on Wednesday in South Sudan’s border regions “unfortunate”, and said the mood at the talks had been hampered.
The resumption of oil production by South Sudan would be particularly valuable for both economies. However, no major breakthrough was struck on the key agenda item of the contested Abyei region, a long-time flashpoint on the volatile border and one of the most contentious sticking points between the two nations.
South Sudan separated from Sudan in July 2011 under a peace agreement that ended a 1983-2005 civil war, but key issues including the demarcation of border zones that cut through oil-rich regions remain unresolved.
