Sudan announces suspension of talks with S. Sudan
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E-mail Xinhua, April 5, 2012
The Sudanese government on Wednesday announced suspension of the recent round of talks with South Sudan under the mediation of the African Union (AU) without reaching agreements on outstanding issues between the two countries.
"Following group and bilateral sessions and at the level of all members of the delegation, no agreement was reached between the two delegations regarding a number of important security issues because South Sudan government delegation did not have a mandate," said a statement by Sudanese delegation to Addis Ababa talks.
"The mediation has presented a new proposal, and as the proposal included political, military, security and media aspects, Sudan delegation saw that it should be subjected to thorough study and consultation with the higher leadership in the country to ensure involvement of all the concerned authorities in the country, " the statement said.
The Sudanese negotiating delegation further reiterated Khartoum 's firm commitment to dialogue and peaceful negotiations as means to reaching satisfactory solutions for both parties to all issues of difference, and on bases of negotiation instead of enmity to achieve joint security and mutual interests.
The delegation urged the African mediation to set up clear features for any new agreement, particularly with regard to determining the limits in accordance with which the agreement on cessation of hostilities would be implemented, breaking the link between the South Sudan's army and the so-called Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA)/northern sector and stopping all forms of support for it.
The delegation urged that the agreement should respect the particularities of each state and its sovereignty and that it should not allow the state any pretext to intervene in the affairs of the other state, particularly with regard to the political settlement for the issue of the rebel movements.
The Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa has hosted the most recent round of negotiations between Sudan and South Sudan with the aim to stop the deterioration in the two countries' relations and end the border clashes.
Meanwhile, South Sudan's chief negotiator Pagan Amum was reported to have said after the end of the meetings that the atmospheres were not prepared for this round of talks, accusing Sudan delegation of withdrawing from the negotiations.
He added that Khartoum's delegation withdrew from the talks and that it was not ready to sign an official agreement with South Sudan delegation.
Direct negotiations between Sudan and South Sudan delegations started in Addis Ababa on Monday with the aim to ease recent military tensions on their border areas. The talks were under the mediation of the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel on Sudan (AUHIP) and chaired by former President of South Africa Thabo Mbeki.
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