USA, UK and Norway call on Sudans to ‘cease hostile rhetoric’

The three countries known as the ‘Sudan Troika’ have released a combined statement expressing their concerns about the “heightened tensions” between the Khartoum and Juba governments. Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague, and US Secretary John Kerry, “are deeply concerned at the heightened tension between the Governments of Sudan and South Sudan. “We call on both governments to comply fully with all of their September 27 agreements, including ceasing any support to rebel movements in each other’s territories and withdrawing their forces fully from the Safe Demilitarized Border Zone,” the statement reads. It points out that the Government of Sudan’s announcement that it intends to stop the flow of South Sudanese oil transported via Sudan’s pipeline is in contravention of these agreements: “We urge the Government of Sudan to reconsider its position and call on both governments to continue constructive dialogue on implementation of these agreements, especially on oil and security”. The Troika reminds both sides of the commitment they made to a peaceful resolution of their disputes in signing the Addis Ababa agreements on 27 September 2012 and calls on them to “cease their increasingly hostile rhetoric”. It underscores that “full implementation of all agreements, without conditionality, as well as progress on unresolved issues such as Abyei, presents the best path toward realising these goals”. Eide, Hague and Kerry call on both governments to cease any interference in the internal affairs of the other state. “In particular, we condemn any military support being provided to rebel movements in Sudan or South Sudan. Such support is clearly in breach of both the spirit and the letter of the Addis agreements and should end immediately. We remind both governments that they committed under the Addis agreements to withdraw forces fully from the Safe Demilitarized Border Zone consistent with the African Union map which they have both accepted, and as called for by UN Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 2046.” The Troika reminds both governments the UNSC has “made a substantive commitment to support border security arrangements, by increasing the force levels of the UN Interim Security Force in Abyei for its participation in the Joint Border Verification and Monitoring Mechanism. We urge both governments to resolve their concerns through the Joint Political Security Mechanism, the Petroleum Monitoring Committee and the other established bilateral mechanisms.” The statement warns that abandoning internationally supported security mechanisms and unilaterally shutting-down the flow of oil “will have serious implications for the viability of both states”. “We call on the two governments to recover their spirit of cooperation exhibited in past months and to commit to overcoming their differences. President Mbeki and the AU High-Level Implementation Panel have now proposed to the Heads of State practical measures to help the parties honour the commitments that they have already made to each other.” The Troika concludes that it supports these next steps as “the only viable way forward” and “repeats its rejection of unilateral actions in word or deed that would damage our collective goal of lasting peace”. File photo Related: ‘Deeply concerned’ Sudan Troika urges continued constructive dialogue (14 June 2013)