Sudan, S. Sudan to resume talks

Sudan and South Sudan hold high expectations of the their meeting in Ethiopia, the first since negotiations were suspended during fighting last month.

"Resuming negotiations between the two countries is a positive sign and means there is hope to reach consensus on the pending issues, among which security is the top issue," Omer Eisa Ahmed, charge of affairs at the Sudan embassy in Beijing, told China Daily.

Sudan's army began to withdraw on Wednesday from the Abyei region, which contains rich oil fields and is contested by neighboring South Sudan, "to create a conducive atmosphere for the talks", Ahmed said.

Reuters reported that Sudan still has a police force of about 50 inside Abyei, and they were expected to leave soon.

South Sudan would like to discuss all of its problems with Sudan "once and for all", said Mondaysemaya Kumba, acting charge of affairs at the South Sudan embassy in Beijing, calling for both sides to meet the people's will and international laws.

The talks will cover issues that brought the two nations to the brink of war in April: establishing a border, how much the landlocked South Sudan should pay to transport its oil through Sudan and the division of national debt.

South Sudan voted last year to break away from Sudan, but the two countries never reached an agreement on these issues. The UN Security Council earlier in May ordered both sides to stop fighting and return to talks or face possible sanctions.

South Sudan is committed to complying with all articles in the UN resolutions and solving all outstanding issues with Sudan "only through peaceful options", said Kumba, urging Sudan to do the same.

Ahmed said "we met our obligations in the peace agreement including accepting the referendum results and recognizing the newly born state".

Both sides recognize China's constructive mediation efforts in promoting dialogue and peace.

"China gained the confidence of the two sides and can play a constructive role in building confidence and narrowing the gap, so as to reach an agreement between the two Sudans," Ahmed said.

"China, an old friend of Sudan and a new strategic friend of South Sudan, is playing a significant role mediating between the two countries ... I believe South Sudan President Salva Kiir had urged Beijing to use its friendship with Sudan to resume the talks," Kumba said.

South Sudan is also ready to immediately resume oil production after making sure Sudan recognizes the sovereignty issues, Kumba said.

The country, which relies on oil for around 98 percent of its income, shut down oil production in January after Sudan started holding part of the south's oil as compensation for what it calls Juba's unpaid debts.

International pressure and people's longing for stability and revitalizing the economy have pushed the two countries to return to the long-running talks, said Li Xinfeng, an expert on African studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

"Both China and the West want the two to achieve peaceful development, but the chronic Sudan-South Sudan disputes can hardly be resolved overnight," he added.

Contact the writers at zhaoshengnan@chinadaily.com.cn and wangchenyan@chinadaily.com.cn