James Okuk, a political observer and one of South Sudan's best known scholars, has urged South Sudan leaders to work towards the success of the next round of peace talks, particularly amid what he termed as “mounting pressure” on the warring parties.

The East African regional bloc, which oversees the South Sudanese peace process, announced that the second round of the talks will continue from 26 to 31 April.

Okuk, who works as a lecturer of political science at the University of Juba, told Radio Tamazuj in an interview on Friday that the four days given by the regional bloc for peace talks in Addis Ababa are enough for peace in South Sudan if there is political will among the parties.

 “I am not seeing a political will, and if the warring parties are given two years they will never agree.  The short period given by IGAD is a good strategy in order to put more pressure on the negotiators,” he said.

The South Sudanese intellectual said the formation of the opposition coalition will make the consultation phase very smooth, as it will be consulted as one entity. Okuk emphasized the importance of the consultation phase before the next round of the talks kick off in late April.

He hinted at the possibly of transferring the peace process in South Sudan to the African or the United Nations when the East African bloc fails to end the civil war in the youngest nation.