The foreign ministers of Sudan and South Sudan issued a joint communique yesterday calling on Russia to invite the presidents of the two countries to visit Moscow.

According to the Moscow communique, Sudanese Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour and his South Sudanese counterpart Barnaba Marial held 'cordial' talks on Thursday in Moscow to settle outstanding issues.

The two sides agreed on resolving several security issues related to their 2012 Cooperation Agreement, “starting with meetings on the Security Arrangements.”

“In this context, we agreed that the two Military Technical Committees on Security from both sides – Sudan and South Sudan are to visit Moscow two days before the two defense ministers of the Sudan and South Sudan come to Moscow for further discussion on the issue.”

The communique adds, “We agreed and call on the Russian Federation to invite the two Presidents of the Republic of the Sudan and the Republic of South Sudan to visit Moscow to strengthen the normal relations of the two countries to the highest level of cooperation in peace and dialogue.”

Thursday's summit in Moscow reflects a rising level of Russian involvement in the Middle East and wider region. A Russian company recently sealed a gold mining deal with Sudan and the country's military has stepped up its cooperation with the Syrian government.

Photo: Russian President Vladimir Putin (Wikipedia/Commons)

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Russia to step up military ties with Sudan (4 Dec. 2014)