Former South African President Mbeki In Sudan to Set New Date for Negotiations

President Omar Hassan al-Bashir of Sudan along with former head-of-state Thabo Mbeki of the Republic of South Africa. Both nations have sought an independent foreign policy towards Africa and the rest of the world., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.

Mbeki in Khartoum Tomorrow to Set New Date for Negotiations

Al-Sammani Awadallah Mohammed Abdalla
Khartoum
Sudan Vision

Implementation Panel (AUHIP) Thabo Mbeki is due in Khartoum tomorrow to conduct consultations with the Sudanese Government and fly to Juba for similar consultations to determine a definite date to resume negotiations between Sudan and South Sudan.

Mbeki will hold a meeting with President Al Bashir to brief him on ongoing arrangements by the AU mediation to resume negotiations between the two parties on security issues, spokesperson of the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Al-Obeid Murawah, told Sudan Vision yesterday.

Murawah stressed the importance of addressing security issues between Khartoum and Juba on priority basis before discussing other dossiers, saying the AU roadmap and the UNSC resolution converged on the need to address security issues before moving to other files.

Earlier, the Foreign Minister said no date was set for the talks but consultations were continuing between the two parties to that end but underlined that the Sudanese Government would not go to the negotiation table if security issues are not top agenda items.

Meanwhile, Sudan dismissed South Sudan’s claims that Khartoum is bombarding its territories. Dafa'allah Osman, Sudan permanent delegate to the United Nations said South Sudan had been repeating these allegations for over a year now without providing any evidence or proof. These are just allegations to divert the world’s focus on South Sudan’s support to rebels in the Blue Nile and South Kordofan states.

He indicated that Sudan foreign policy is based on respecting other countries' sovereignty and to not interfere in their domestic affairs. The Ambassador said that the UNSC has responded to all the complaints filed by Sudan against the Government of South Sudan in a number of presidential and press releases expressing conviction and condemnation of all violations committed by South Sudan.

“The UNSC has for the first time strongly condemned the attack of South Sudan on Heglig and ordered withdrawal of SPLA.
Addressing a press conference Monday at the premises of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ambassador clarified that the UNSC Resolution No. 2046 aims at urging both countries to return to the negotiations table. He indicated that setting a deadline for talks does not necessarily mean a solution will be reached for any of the issues.

He said Sudan is a sovereign country, and described the timetable specified by the resolution as unrealistic and based on past experience there will be no commitment to that.

Regarding the report which is supposed to have been presented to the Secretary General of the United Nations by the SG Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan Haile Menkerios said that Menkerios, being an envoy of the Secretary General, would like the know the extent of Sudan's commitment to the resolution, indicating that Sudan confirmed its commitment to the resolution.

In the same direction, the ambassador described the map released by South Sudan containing Sudanese territories as “political immaturity”.

Concerning the disputed areas, he said they are four contested areas only and that Sudan informed the Security Council and other international bodies of its rejection of the map.