President Salva Kiir will not attend a meeting in Ethiopia next week where rival parties are scheduled to hold talks in a bid to salvage the stalled peace deal, the government said.

All parties to the peace deal were invited by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), a regional bloc, to discuss challenges of implementing the peace agreement.

Information Minister Michael Makuei told Radio Tamazuj this evening that Kiir will not attend the meeting, saying the gathering does not include the president.

“The meeting will take place in Addis Ababa on 21 August. The parties have been asked to send three representatives each for a consultative meeting, so the meeting does not include the president,” Makuei said.

Makuei, who is also the government’s spokesperson, said the meeting will discuss the progress of the September 2018 peace deal.

He declined to disclose the names of their representatives, saying only that they will send three officials to represent the government. Makuei underscored that the Kiir administration will not postpone the formation of a unity government again.

Three months left before a transitional government of national unity is meant to be formed.

However creating a unified army and determining the number of states remain the most challenging issues in the agreement.