Sudan agrees to resume talks with South Sudan over outstanding issues

Sudan on Monday agreed to resume talks with South Sudan to resolve outstanding issues between the two countries under the African Union mediation. Chairman of the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel on Sudan (AUHIP) Thabo Mbeki on Monday held talks with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on arrangements for the coming round of negotiations between Khartoum and Juba, which are hosted by the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa. "The president has confirmed that indeed the delegation of the government of Sudan will be travelling to Addis Ababa so that we will continue with these negotiations on all those outstanding issues," Mbeki told reporters following his talks with al-Bashir Monday. Mbeki further explained that the coming round of talks between Khartoum and Juba would kick off in Addis Ababa in this week, without specifying a date, reiterating commitment of both sides to participate in the talks. "We have come to discuss with President al-Bashir outstanding issues with regard to the negotiations. We have proposed both to the government of Sudan and the government of South Sudan that we should resume these negotiations on all the outstanding matters in Addis Ababa this week," said Mbeki. He added that the AUHIP delegation would travel to Juba to present a report to South Sudan President Salva Kiir about the preparations for the negotiations, saying that the government of South Sudan has already confirmed that they also would be participating in the negotiations. The negotiations between Sudan and South Sudan were supposed to resume last Saturday but were postponed due to differences between the two sides. Sudan and South Sudan are discussing many issues, including oil revenues sharing, border and the dispute over affiliation of Abyei area. The two sides exchanged accusations regarding the armed conflicts in the Blue Nile and South Kordofan areas where the Sudan People's Liberation Army's (SPLA) northern sector is launching military attacks that Khartoum says were backed by South Sudan at a time when Juba accuses Khartoum of supporting South Sudan rebels.