February 22, 2012 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan’s presidential assistant, Nafie
Ali Nafie, has accused negotiators from neighboring South Sudan of
having no intention to reach a deal with Khartoum on post-secession
issues because they have other plans in mind.
- FILE - South Sudan’s chief negotiator Pagan Amum (GETTY)
In statements he made in Khartoum following a meeting on Wednesday
with a visiting Norwegian delegation led by Oslo’s minister of
environment Erik Solheim, Nafie said that Khartoum would not hesitate to
respond to any initiative aimed at finding a solution to the dispute
between the recently separated countries over oil and other issues.
However, he charged that Juba would not do likewise unless it
replaces the negotiators representing it in the Ethiopian capital Addis
Ababa, which hosts the talks.
According to Nafie, South Sudan’s current negotiators believe that
any agreement with Khartoum would go against Juba’s strategy of
supporting rebel groups in Sudan’s border regions of South Kordofan and
Blue Nile as well as supporting opposition forces despite the fact that
they are aware that these forces are weak and unable to achieve the goal
of regime change.
Talks between Sudan and South Sudan to resolve issues arising from
the south’s secession in July last year have faltered despite efforts by
the African Union mediators led by former South African President Thabo
Mbeki.
Continued failure to reach agreements over disputed territories,
especially Abyei, and the transportation of South Sudan’s oil via Sudan
gave rise to increased tension and talk of a return to war.
Nafie’s accusation could be an indirect reference to South Sudan’s
chief negotiator Pagan Amum which Khartoum repeatedly accuses of
harboring hostile attitude towards the Sudanese government.
The next round of talks between the two countries on oil is scheduled
for March 6th though prospects for a solution appear slim. Sudan asked
Juba for $36 per barrel of oil exported through its pipelines. South
Sudan rejects the figure but offered to pay $2.6 billion to its northern
neighbor and forgive Khartoum’s debt of $2.8 billion.
In an interview with the London-based Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, Amum said
that oil revenues helped Khartoum wage wars and commit genocide and
crimes against humanity in Darfur and elsewhere. This he said prompted
South Sudan to withdraw its $2.6 billion offer.
Khartoum also accuses Juba of supporting rebel fighting the Sudanese
government in South Kordofan and Blue Nile, citing the rebels’
affiliation to Juba’s ruling party before independence.
Sudanese officials have accused South Sudan of seeking to topple the
government in Khartoum through economic pressure after Juba decided last
month to suspend the production of oil, the lifeline to both economies,
in protest of Khartoum’s confiscation of the commodity as it passed
through its territory.
Juba now wants to develop an alternative pipeline to Kenya or Djibouti to bypass Sudan.
On his end the Norweigian minister said oil pipeline projects tend to take longer than planned.
"I see very few people in the international community who consider this feasible in the short-term," Solheim told Reuters.
"A much more realistic option would be to find a settlement using the
north-south pipeline in meantime while then you can consider a
long-term solution," he said during a visit to Khartoum.
Norway is advising Sudan and South Sudan on developing their oil industries.
Asked whether Juba would be able to build a pipeline to the Kenyan
coast within 11 months as planned, Solheim said: "It’s a very optimistic
assessment."
In a related development, Sudan’s foreign minister Ali Karti stressed
that his country is keen to reach a quick agreement with South Sudan to
the oil problem and other issues complicating the relationship between
the two countries.
“We have a new round of talks scheduled by the end of this month and
we hope to reach a solution there,” he said in Khartoum after meeting
his Malaysian counterpart on Wednesday.
(ST)
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