The First Vice President of the Republic of Sudan, Ali Osman Mohamed Taha, said that the war in Southern Kordofan and the Blue Nile has to stop because it is not based on logic or justification, stressing his government's interest in peace and working to achieve it.

Taha told a delegation from parties and organizations in South Kordofan State which he received at the presidential palace yesterday that the government is working for a lasting peace in the regions through the mechanisms of negotiation that are currently ongoing in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa. He stated that “the option of peace is a strategic choice which all the people of Sudan stand by.”

He stressed that the country presented its best through its negotiating team in Addis Ababa, and that hopes are hung on the negotiations to make progress regarding all issues in order to achieve stability and security.

Taha also welcomed the initiative of state-level parties and the events they organized to support the negotiating tracks, stressing that the issue is a national issue and requires expanded participation for the solution to be a Sudanese solution.

The vice-president also said that his participation in the summit of political parties and forces which is expected to be held in the city of Kadugli, is conditional on the outcome of the negotiations which will end 22 September.

The delegation of South Kordofan state presented a vision to support the negotiations in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa on the issue of disputed regions, especially regions which involved their state.