 |
Salva
Kiir shakes hands with Omer Al-Bashir in
Addis
Ababa on 14 July 2012 (SUNA)
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In his last Saturday meeting in Addis Ababa
with President Omer Hassan Al-Bashir, South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayadrit
offered financial support and mediation to end South Kordofan and Blue Nile
conflicts.
The one-to-one meeting was seen as
turning point to break the deadlocked talks where the two parties failed to
make tangible progress on the outstanding issues as each side accuses the other
of seeking to oust him.
The "Sudanese-made"
encounter as described by Sudan’s foreign minister Ali Karti was agreed
previously by the two sides during their meetings held earlier on5-7 July
before the suspension of talks for the first anniversary of South Sudan’s
independence.
Salva Kiir during the meeting offered
financial support to help Khartoum to overcome the severe economic crisis Sudan
is experiencing since one year ago, according to different sources and
confidential documents seen by Sudan Tribune.
He further proposed South Sudan
mediation to end the one-year conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile with the
rebels of Sudan people’s Liberation Movement- North (SPLM-N) which was part of
South Sudan ruling party before the independence.
Kiir also proposed his good offices to
end Darfur conflict.
In return, he asked the resumption of
oil transit for exportation through the Sudanese pipeline and to organise a
referendum on the future of Abyei region.
Bashir according to the sources
African and Sudanese sources accepted Kiir’s initiative to meet him and asked
to reach a security agreement to facilitate the resolution of the other files.
He also expressed his readiness for
the oil flow and direct talks on the border issues.
During the one hour meeting, the two
presidents agreed on the principles of the issues they discussed and agreed to
leave the details of their deal to be worked out by the negotiating teams in
the Ethiopian north western city of Bahir Dar.
Kiir during his meeting with Bashir
proposed the provision of transitional financial assistance to Sudan and his
country’s support for mobilization of debt relief to help alleviate Sudan’s
budget deficit.
He however asked Bashir to accept a
transit fee based on standard international practices. He also requested to
open the border for the trade and free movement of the Sudanese and South
Sudanese between the two states.
According to a confidential document
seen by Sudan Tribune detailing the Strategic Framework agreed by the two
parties on 7 July, the parties envision as possible outcome of the ongoing
talks that Sudan’s financial gap can be addressed through "a
three-prolonged response".
One third of the gap should be met
through funds provided by South Sudan, the document of the strategic approach says.
For the other two thirds, Sudan has to cover one third of the gap through
economic measures and the international community should provide the remaining
third.
Bashir and Mayadrit agreed during the
meeting to accelerate the formation of Abyei administration but more important;
Bashir accepted the formation of the commission for Abyei Referendum and
related issues including the defining the eligible voters.
Khartoum and Juba government are
facing difficult economic situation. Khartoum lost oil income since the South
Sudan independence in July 2011, while Juba shut down oil production in January
2012.
The African mediation failed to
convince Sudan to accept a map its proposes to operationalise a buffer zone
which is key in the security arrangements the two countries agreed to implement
since November 2011.
Sources say the parties might go more
in their rapprochement and reach a deal on this issue without the African
mediation.
The African Union roadmap and the UN
resolution 2046 set the 2 August as deadline for the negotiations over the
unresolved issues and threaten to impose economic sanctions of the two
countries.
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