Moscow has taken a positive view of reports from Juba, the capital of South Sudan, stating that the republic’s president, Salva Kiir, signed an agreement on August 26 on the resolution of the conflict in the Republic of South Sudan. Earlier, on August 17, at a regular round of negotiations between the South Sudanese sides in Addis Ababa, the document was signed by Riek Machar, the leader of the opposition movement and former vice president of the Republic of South Sudan. We hope that these agreements – which provide, in particular, for an immediate ceasefire, the formation of a national unity government, the withdrawal of foreign troops from South Sudan, the disarmament of illegal armed formations and the holding of general elections after a transition period – will be honoured.

We welcome the active efforts of the group of international mediators under the auspices of the East African Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and its expanded format known as IGAD Plus, which has made it possible to harmonise the text of the agreement and ensure its signing by the parties to the conflict.

We hope that the agreements will become an important practical step toward lasting peace and national accord in South Sudan.

 

August 27, 2015