A government delegation met with First Vice-President Riek Machar in his office in Juba on Monday, following the SPLM-IO withdrawal from the Nairobi peace talks.
The government delegation was led by the Presidential Special Envoy, Albino Mathem Ayuel.
According to a statement issued by Machar’s office, the meeting highlighted the significance of the initialed protocols, which would be the basis of the agreement between the government and the holdout groups.
The delegation’s spokesman, Michael Makuei, said the final document and the concerns raised by the SPLM-IO political bureau that led to the suspension of their participation would be discussed by the Presidency this week.
Makuei admitted that the SPLM-IO decision had affected the government engagement with the holdout opposition groups in Nairobi.
However, he further noted that the Nairobi talks were all-inclusive and not for the government or the parties only. He added that some SPLM-IO members were still in Nairobi awaiting the outcome of the Presidency meeting.
Last week, South Sudan’s main opposition political outfit, the SPLM-IO, led by First Vice President Riek Machar, announced its withdrawal from the peace talks in Kenya dubbed the Tumaini Peace Initiative.
Machar, a principal of the transitional government, argued that the Nairobi talks were overstepping the mandate and undermining the country’s existing revitalized peace deal and sovereignty.
According to the party, some protocols signed in the peace talks included parallel institutions that duplicated the revitalized peace provisions.