South Sudan says willing to host Sudan-Ethiopia border talks

A visiting security aide to South Sudan’s president said on Monday that his country’s leader is willing to hold a trilateral meeting on resolving border disputes between Sudan and Ethiopia.

Tut Gatluak Manime, a security advisor to President Salva Kiir, made the remarks during his meeting with Sudan’s Transitional Sovereign Council Chairman Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, where they “reviewed political relations and border issues between the two countries,” said Gatluak in a statement.

The two sides also discussed relations between Sudan, South Sudan and Ethiopia, he added, noting the trilateral relations would witness a new phase of cooperation.

“There is an initiative by President Salva to hold a meeting in Juba for leaders of Sudan, South Sudan and Ethiopia to resolve the outstanding issues” over border demarcation, said Gatluak.

Since September 2020, the Sudan-Ethiopia border has been witnessing rising tensions and deadly skirmishes between the two neighbors.

Sudan has accused the Ethiopian military of backing farmers’ seizure of Sudanese lands in the disputed al-Fashaga district on the border of the two countries.