South Sudan’s government has raised the issue of changing the venue for peace negotiations, according to its spokesman.
The second round of peace talks between delegations aligned to President Kiir and opposition groups was suspended temporarily after the parties reached a deadlock on governance and security arrangements on 16 February.
The IGAD mediation team said the third round of the peace talks will in March after intensified efforts to assist the parties to make the necessary compromises that will resolve the outstanding issues.
Michael Makuei Lueth, Information Minister, told Radio Tamazuj today that his government had proposed that the venue of the next peace talks should be changed due to Ethiopia's political instability.
“We want the venue of our peace talks to be changed because we don’t want our peace talks to be suspended because of the problems in Ethiopia,” he said.
“The talks can be hosted either by Djibouti or Kenya and Uganda, but Somalia, Sudan and South Sudan are out of question,” he added.
The government spokesman pointed out that the ongoing political instability in Ethiopia has negatively affected South Sudan’s peace talks.
“As you know very well that the issue of Ethiopia’s Prime Minister who is also the chairperson of IGAD has not yet been solved,” he said.
Makuei claimed the mediation team during the latest peace talks was not decisive on the key issues. However, he said there were few signs of progress during the peace talks.
The official reiterated his government’s commitment to bring about peace and stability in South Sudan.