South Sudan President Salva Kiir arrived in Addis Ababa on Monday (March 2) for direct talks with SPLM-In Opposition leader Riek Machar. The two leaders are meeting with Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam separately before they begin face to face talks. Under the agreement signed last month by President Kiir and Dr. Machar, the two sides have until March 5 to agree a comprehensive peace settlement, to be followed later by the formation of a transitional unity government no later than July 9.
At the beginning of last week, representatives of the two sides resumed the IGAD-mediated talks in Addis Ababa to finalize power-sharing issues and determine the army's status during a transitional period. The main areas for the principals to resolve are the structure of the government particularly in the top level, power sharing ratios in the cabinet and in the national Assembly as well as the status of the army during the 30-month long interim period, but agreement has also yet to be reached on financial issues including on how to share revenues from the country's oil wealth and disclosure of national debts.
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