S Sudan VP to discuss Sudan oil issue in Khartoum
Iran Press TV
Sun Jun 30, 2013 2:35PM GMT
South Sudan Vice President Riek Machar has arrived in the Sudanese capital Khartoum to resolve ongoing tensions over oil and security border issues.
Machar opened his two-day talks with his Sudanese counterpart Ali Osman Taha behind closed doors on Sunday, immediately after his arrival in the country.
The closure of oil pipeline by Sudan security border is expected to take the center stage of the talks.
Several senior officials of the two countries including th ministers of oil, defense and interior will also attend the high-level meeting.
The developments come after Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir ordered the stoppage of oil transfer through Sudanese territory from South Sudan on June 8, saying the government of President Salva Kiir is supporting rebels in Sudan.
Juba denied Khartoum’s accusations of supporting insurgents in Sudan, and in turn accused South Sudan of propping up rebels in southern regions.
In March, Sudan and South Sudan struck a deal to resume the flow of southern oil exports through pipelines in the north. The pipelines, which are South Sudan's only route to international market, carry oil from the landlocked South through Sudan to a port on the Red Sea.
In January 2012, South Sudan stopped its oil production following tensions over transit fees and disputed territory.
South Sudan seceded from the Republic of Sudan on July 9, 2011, after decades of conflict with Khartoum. The new oil-rich nation is one of the least developed countries in the world, with one in seven children dying before the age of five.
MM/PR
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