The Government of South Sudan and the Non-Signatories South Sudanese Opposition Group (NSSSOG) which brings together opposition parties that declined to be part of the 2018 revitalised peace agreement have failed to find common ground to proceed with the Community Sant’Egidio mediated Rome Peace Talks.

Paolo Impagliazzo, the secretary-general of the Community of Sant'Egidio, told Radio Tamazuj Thursday morning that the peace talks will only resume in Rome once both parties agree on the way forward.

He said the government of South Sudan is determined to continue with political talks as per the Rome Initiative while the opposition group insists on round table discussions.

“The situation is still the same and we are in discussions with both the government and none signatories opposition group to find common ground to restart the negotiations,” he said. “The situation is still the same and the non-signatories are asking for round table discussions and the government is asking to continue with the Rome Initiative as it is. So, there are no possibilities now for a common agenda to be discussed.”

“We are in discussions with both the government and non-signatories to resume talks and we believe political negotiations are still the way to continue with,” Impagliazzo added.

In November 2022, the transitional government suspended the peace talks with the Non-Signatories South Sudanese Opposition Group (NSSSOG) after accusing the opposition of lacking commitment to peace negotiations and preparing for war.

However, President Salva Kiir Mayardit renewed his commitment to the peace process with the opposition grouping after Pope Francis’s visit to the Juba in February.

Negotiations between the government and the original no-signatories began in Rome in 2019 and have since been on and off with intermittent fighting and cyclic blame games despite a ceasefire signed in January 2020.

The expanded political alignment, the NSSSOG, which was formed in July 2022, comprises the United Democratic Revolutionary Movement/Army UDRM/A, National Democratic Movement Patriotic Front (NDM-PF), National Salvation Front (NAS), South Sudan United Front/Army (SSUF/A), Sudan National Movement for Change (SSNMC), and the Real SPLM.