Sudan, South Sudan reiterate commitment to resolve outstanding issues

Sudan and South Sudan on Saturday reiterated their commitment to resolve outstanding issues between them and not to return to war again no matter what the reasons were. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and President of South Sudan Salva Kiir Mayardit on Saturday held joint talks in Khartoum to reach solutions for the outstanding issues between the two countries. "We reiterate our commitment not to return to the war square. We will work together to enhance peace and establish good relations on bases of good neighborliness and mutual respect," said al-Bashir in the talks, quoted by local media. "Realization of security and stability is associated with defusing the conflicts and preventing foreign intervention in our affairs. We should depend on our self-abilities and work together to establish a good relationship on bases of the historical ties between our peoples," he added. He went on saying that "if we lost unity, at least we should win the peace. The international law abides us to observe the good neighborliness. It is important that we work together to secure our borders and make them flexible to facilitate the movement of the citizens and commodities." The Sudanese president further called on the experts from the two countries to work out a formula for strategic cooperation in the field of petroleum according to the international standards and in a manner that achieves the interests of the two peoples. South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit, for his part, said that "we are committed to no going back to war again. This is a station that we left a long time ago since 2005 when the Naivasha agreement was signed." "Now if it happened that there are any elements that are taking us back to that square, I think all of us should then take such people as the enemies of our peoples," he added. He reiterated the importance of finding settlements for all the outstanding issues between the two countries, saying that any mistake, even if slight, could lead to a disaster. Kiir arrived in Khartoum on Saturday in his first visit to Sudan since the independence of South Sudan on July this year. The two countries are discussing outstanding issues between them including oil revenues sharing, border demarcation and disputed Abyei issues. Sudan and South Sudan earlier agreed to open 10 passages on their joint border to facilitate the movement of citizens after the border was closed before the declaration of South Sudan independence. Khartoum accused the newly born South Sudan of supporting the rebels in the Blue Nile and South Kordofan areas which have witnessed armed clashes between the Sudanese army and fighters of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement.