The Government of South Sudan has not officially informed Rome on any new initiatives to move the Rome peace talks to Kenya, according to Sant’Egidio.

Last month, South Sudan President Salva Kiir, through the Minister of Presidential Affairs Bangasi Joseph Bakasoro, asked Kenya's President William Ruto to mediate between the government and the non-signatories to the 2018 peace agreement.

The Rome-based lay Catholic association, Sant'Egidio, adjourned the peace talks between the transitional government and the Non-Signatories South Sudanese Opposition Group (NSSSOG) after they disagreed on the agenda of the peace talks in March 2023. The holdout opposition group demands a roundtable discussion, but the government rejects the idea.

Negotiations between both sides began in 2019 but have failed to end violence in some parts of the country despite a ceasefire signed in January 2020.

Paolo Impagliazzo, the Secretary-General of the Community of Sant' Egidio, told Radio Tamazuj Thursday that no formal communication had been made to Rome about any changes with regard to the venue of the talks.

“We were not informed directly about the initiative to move the talks from Rome to Nairobi Kenya, but we respect the decision of the government of South Sudan. If they want President William Ruto to mediate the talks, we have no problem with that, but we did not receive any formal communication from the government of South Sudan,” Paolo said.

In his New Year message, President Salva Kiir called on the holdout groups to return to the country so they can be part of the preparations for the general elections slated for December 2024.

Should the new initiative succeed, it will mark the end of Sant'Egidio to proceed with the mediation of the South Sudan peace talks.

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