Sudan, South Sudan To Resume Talks Next Week, Mbeki Says

Sudan and South Sudan will resume talks next week that were suspended after fighting in a border area in April, African Union mediator Thabo Mbeki said.

The new round of talks will “look at all decisions made by the African Union and Security Council,” Mbeki told reporters yesterday in Khartoum.

The United Nations Security Council threatened in a May 2 resolution to impose sanctions against the two countries unless they stopped fighting and resumed talks by May 16. Both countries have accepted the African Union’s “road map” for negotiations, which was strengthened by a Security Council resolution calling on them to cease border hostilities and return to talks.

Relations between the two countries have deteriorated since South Sudan seceded from Sudan in July after a popular referendum on independence intended to end a long-running civil war. The south kept three-quarters of the formerly united country’s oil output of about 490,000 barrels a day.

Tensions between the countries exploded last month when South Sudan occupied the contested, oil-rich area of Heglig. It pulled troops out 10 days later, saying it was complying with a Security Council request.

To contact the reporter on this story: Salma El Wardany in Khartoum atselwardany@bloomberg.net

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-22/sudan-south-sudan-to-resume-talks-next-week-mbeki-says.html