Sudan accepts draft peace agreement

The Sudanese government delegation to the Juba negotiations announced on Monday its “general acceptance” of the draft framework agreement submitted by the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) led by Abdelaziz Al-Hilu, which aims to achieve a peaceful settlement between the two sides, Anadolu has reported. The news was announced by an official spokesman for the government delegation, Khalid Omar Youssef, on Sunday.

According to a statement issued by the Sovereignty Council of Sudan, Youssef said that the acceptance of the draft is a positive indicator that can be taken as a solid base for developing a framework agreement for upcoming peace agreements.

The draft framework sets out the general issues and principles of negotiation and includes the Declaration of Principles signed between the two parties in March. That’s when they announced their intention to end disputes through peaceful means, form a unified army in the country, and establish a state that guarantees freedom of religion and worship for all people.

Youssef indicated that the Khartoum delegation handed over its response to the framework agreement proposal. “We have comments on a number of topics and issues that will be discussed in a positive spirit in the coming days with the movement’s delegation, in order to sign the framework agreement as soon as possible.”

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The Sudanese government announced on Saturday that it was studying the proposed framework in preparation for the resumption of negotiations yesterday.

The opening session of the talks was held in the capital of South Sudan, Juba, last week in the presence of President Salva Kiir Mayardit, heads of the Sovereignty Council, and Sudanese ministers Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and Abdalla Hamdok. Regional and international delegations also took part.