Addis Ababa, 12 March 2015 (WIC) – South Sudanese warring parties, who failed to reach agreement on power sharing ratio, will resume peace talks in the coming month of April, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced.
The warring parties, failed to reach agreement by the deadline, 5 March, will continue the negotiations, Spokesperson Tewolde Mulugeta told reporters during a weekly briefing.
Since the two sides failed to reach agreement during the final session of the IGAD led peace talk held in Addis Ababa from3rd to 6th March, the upcoming talks would involve other stakeholders including African and international community, he said.
The two parties will continue their talks with the presence of representatives from the African Union, United Nations Security Council, and governments of US, British and Norway, Tewolde said.
President Salva Kiir and his rival Rick Machar didn’t agree on the power sharing ratio, since both parties want the highest position for themselves.
Though the two parties agreed on 1st February this year to reach agreement no later than 5th March, in the final session of the negotiation, but they failed to do so.
The parties were negotiating on critical agendas, including the structure of the executive of the transitional government of national unity and the power sharing ratios.
In his speech to the people of South Sudan following the conclusion of the talks without results, Ethiopian Prime Minister and IGAD Chair HaileMariam Desalegn condemned both sides for not considering the safety and wellbeing of their people, “rather than only reiterating old positions”.
He said the refusal by both sides to compromise differences would prolong suffering of the people of South Sudan saying it is unacceptable both “morally and politically.”
The other agenda the Spokesperson raised was the issues of the tripartite national committee formed to hire the consultant firm for the recommended additional researches to be conducted on the Ethiopian Dam.
The water ministers of the three countries, Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan, reached on a political consensus during their meeting last Friday in Khartum, Sudan, he said.
According to Tewolde, the national committees of the three countries have already selected the firm that will consult the researches.
According to ENA, the firm will be publicized and contract agreement would be signed soon, he added.
