Leaders of Sudan and South Sudan Agree to End Disputes
Photo: Reuters
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir (R) listens as his South Sudanese counterpart Salva Kiir speaks during a joint news conference, before Kiir’s departure at Khartoum Airport October 9, 2011.
The president of South Sudan, Salva Kiir, has ended a two day visit to Khartoum where he and Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir discussed issues that continue to produce tensions between the two countries.
Unresolved since South Sudan became independent in early July are the future of the disputed oil-rich border region of Abyei and how to share oil revenue which is the life-line of both nations.
During a session with reporters on Sunday, the two leaders said committees are being formed in an attempt to end the disputes which have led to fears of a return to civil war. Kiir said his government is ready to discuss solutions “to all outstanding issues.” Bashir said deadlines have been established. But he did not provide further details.
South Sudan has most of the oil production but needs Sudan’s Red Sea export facilities.
Diplomats say the fact that the two leaders agreed to meet is a positive sign.
Also causing tensions between Sudan and South Sudan is fighting in Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan, both regions located within Sudan’s borders. Since South Sudan has withdrawn its troops from Abyei the fighting there has ended. But Sudan has refused to pull out its forces until all the 4,200 Ethiopian peacekeepers designated for the region arrive. Only half of them are currently stationed there.
Presidents of Sudan, South Sudan vow to resolve issues with talks, not war
- South Sudan President Salva Kiir visits Sudan for the first time since independence
- He says his government “is ready to discuss and reach final solutions”
- Sudan President Omar al-Bashir says new committees will have a timetable
- South Sudan became independent from Sudan in July, after years of strife
Khartoum, Sudan (CNN) — On his first visit to Khartoum since his fledgling nation declared independence, South Sudanese President Salva Kiir agreed with his Sudanese counterpart to hold talks to “reach final solutions” to address continuing differences between their countries.
“My government is ready to discuss and reach final solutions on all outstanding issues — mainly the economy, security, borders and Abyei status,” Kiir told reporters Sunday.
“We shall work on all these outstanding issues and make sure we sign a final agreement on all of them as soon as possible.”
After years of violent strife and a January referendum paving the way for a new state, South Sudan separated from Sudan in July.
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir said then that he wanted “brotherly relations” with his new neighbor, though the two countries remain at odds on a host of issues including borders, how to share oil revenues and the status of the disputed oil-rich border district of Abyei.
During the press conference Sunday, al-Bashir elaborated on current efforts to hash out any differences by pointing to committees that have been established by both sides to negotiate.
“It has been agreed on to establish committees with a timetable to reach final solutions,” he said.
The Sudanese Media Center, a semi-official news agency, reported that five such committees had been created. They each have a different focus: external relations, economic issues, higher education, humanitarian affairs, and security and borders.
Tensions between the two countries have risen lately, following conflicts in the border provinces of South Kordofan and Blue Nile that have spurred fears about a renewed conflict.
Both presidents, however, affirmed their commitment to resolving issues peacefully.
“If we lost unity, then we cannot afford anything less than gaining peace, stability and development,” al-Bashir said in an earlier meeting.
Added Kir, the South Sudanese president, “There may be some elements on both sides that would like to take us back to where we come from — that is war.
“War is not the solution to whatever problems we have. The solution is sitting together and solving the problems.”
http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/09/world/africa/sudan-talks/
Sudan, South Sudan say to settle disputes jointly
KHARTOUM – Sudan and South Sudan on Sunday agreed to form joint committees to settle all the outstanding issues between them according to specific time frame.
“We have agreed to form joint committees to reach solutions to all the outstanding issues within a specific time ceiling,” said Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir at a joint press conference with South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit here Sunday.
“We expect to reach satisfactory solutions very soon. There is a joint will to overcome all standing barriers,” he added.
Al-Bashir further described Kiir’s visit to Khartoum as a new beginning for the ties between the two countries, pointing to the historical bonds linking the two peoples.
Kiir, for his part, said his government was ready to reach solutions to all the outstanding issues between the two countries, including the security, economic and border issues as well as disputes regarding the Abyei area.
He expressed confidence that the two sides would resolve all the issues and sign a final agreement very soon.
Kiir arrived in Khartoum Saturday on his first visit to Sudan since the independence of South Sudan in July this year.
He discussed with al-Bashir a number of outstanding issues between the two countries, including oil revenues sharing, border demarcation and disputed Abyei issues.
Sudan and South Sudan earlier agreed to open 10 passages on their joint border to facilitate the movement of citizens after the border was closed before the declaration of South Sudan’s independence.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2011-10/09/content_13857647.htm
North, South Sudan need more time to settle disputes
KHARTOUM | Sun Oct 9, 2011 8:45am EDT
KHARTOUM (Reuters) – North and South Sudan ended their first talks since the south gained independence three months ago and said more negotiations would be held to try to settle their disputes ranging from sharing oil revenues to ending violence in a border area.
Southern President Salva Kiir held two days of talks with Sudan’s President Omar Hassan al-Bashir to ease tensions that have grown since South Sudan became independent in July as part of a peace agreement in 2005.
A diplomat said the talks were a positive sign that both sides wanted to improve ties but more time was needed to sort out their complicated disputes.
At a joint news conference both leaders said more negotiations would be held.
“My government is ready to discuss solutions for all pending issues,” Kiir said before leaving Khartoum. “I return today to Juba to ensure that we reach solutions to all pending issues. Lets sign an agreement as soon as possible.”
Bashir said committees would work out solutions for all disputes in a set timeframe. He did not elaborate.
The African Union and former South African President Thabo Mbeki have tried to mediate but little has been resolved.
A lack of a joint banking system and trade agreements is hampering cross-border commerce between north and south.
The United States has urged both sides to speed up talks to reach especially a deal on how to divide oil revenues — the dominant source of revenue for both states. Juba took most of the oil but need to pay a fee to use northern export facilities both sides have failed to agree upon.
(Reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz and Ulf Laessing)
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/09/us-sudan-south-idUSTRE7980WO20111009
Sudan, South Sudan say to settle disputes peacefully
Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir welcomes his South Sudanese counterpart Salva Kiir during his arrival at Khartoum Airport October 8,2011 for his first visit since southern secession to discuss key unresolved issues, including Abyei and oil, that have undermined north-south relations.
Credit: Reuters/ Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah
KHARTOUM | Sun Oct 9, 2011 8:56am IST
KHARTOUM (Reuters) – Sudan and South Sudan will resolve their disagreements through dialogue, Sudan’s President Omar Hassan al-Bashir and southern counterpart Salva Kiir said, but gave no hint of any progress after several meetings on Saturday.
Kiir arrived on Saturday in Khartoum on his first visit since South Sudan seceded in July from its former civil war foe.
Diplomats hoped Kiir’s two-day visit would ease tensions that have grown since the split and end a stalemate in talks.
The two countries have failed to agree how to share oil revenues and other assets, divide up debt, calm the joint border area and agree what to do about the disputed region of Abyei.
“We confirm the principle not to go back to war but to be good neighbours and leave the bitterness of the past behind,” Bashir said at a reception open to the media.
Khartoum wants to develop trade relations and will keep its Red Sea port of Port Sudan and Nile river access open for exports from the landlocked south, he said, citing agriculture as example of cross-border cooperation.
Kiir said the era of war had ended with the 2005 peace deal.
“We are committed as you are committed not to go back to war,” he said in a speech. “We are committed to find solutions.”
Both countries set up five committees to strengthen ties, especially on trade cooperation, according to the Sudanese Media Centre (SMC), a news website linked to the northern government.
North and south also want to discuss Sudan’s external debt, northern finance minister Ali Mahmood told SMC. Juba has refused to take $38 billion debt incurred when the country was united.
The two sides reached an agreement last month to facilitate travel and trade after much of the joint border was closed in the run-up to southern independence.
But talks over how to share oil revenues, the lifeline for both economies, have been stalled for months. South Sudan took most of the country’s oil production but needs northern export facilities and Red Sea access.
Juba will need to pay a transit fee but has not paid anything since July, in the absence of an agreement, diplomats say. Both countries have been hit hard by an economic crisis with inflation spiralling.
The African Union and former South African President Thabo Mbeki have tried to mediate but little has been resolved.
Khartoum has accused Juba of supporting armed opposition groups fighting the army in northern border states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile, a charge South Sudan denies.
(Reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz; Writing by Ulf Laessing; Editing by Louise Ireland)
http://in.reuters.com/article/2011/10/09/idINIndia-59781120111000
KHARTOUM, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) — Sudan and South Sudan on Saturday reiterated their commitment to resolve outstanding issues between them and not to return to war again no matter what the reasons were.
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and President of South Sudan Salva Kiir Mayardit on Saturday held joint talks in Khartoum to reach solutions for the outstanding issues between the two countries.
“We reiterate our commitment not to return to the war square. We will work together to enhance peace and establish good relations on bases of good neighborliness and mutual respect,” said al-Bashir in the talks, quoted by local media.
“Realization of security and stability is associated with defusing the conflicts and preventing foreign intervention in our affairs. We should depend on our self-abilities and work together to establish a good relationship on bases of the historical ties between our peoples,” he added.
He went on saying that “if we lost unity, at least we should win the peace. The international law abides us to observe the good neighborliness. It is important that we work together to secure our borders and make them flexible to facilitate the movement of the citizens and commodities.”
The Sudanese president further called on the experts from the two countries to work out a formula for strategic cooperation in the field of petroleum according to the international standards and in a manner that achieves the interests of the two peoples.
South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit, for his part, said that “we are committed to no going back to war again. This is a station that we left a long time ago since 2005 when the Naivasha agreement was signed.”
“Now if it happened that there are any elements that are taking us back to that square, I think all of us should then take such people as the enemies of our peoples,” he added.
He reiterated the importance of finding settlements for all the outstanding issues between the two countries, saying that any mistake, even if slight, could lead to a disaster.
Kiir arrived in Khartoum on Saturday in his first visit to Sudan since the independence of South Sudan on July this year.
The two countries are discussing outstanding issues between them including oil revenues sharing, border demarcation and disputed Abyei issues.
Sudan and South Sudan earlier agreed to open 10 passages on their joint border to facilitate the movement of citizens after the border was closed before the declaration of South Sudan independence.
Khartoum accused the newly born South Sudan of supporting the rebels in the Blue Nile and South Kordofan areas which have witnessed armed clashes between the Sudanese army and fighters of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-10/09/c_131179995.htm
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