By Taban Henry
The US Ambassador Jonny Baxter has called on the First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar Teny to meet and engage in face to face discussions with President Salva Kiir to iron out issues hindering progress of the Revitalized Peace Agreement.
This was revealed to the media on Thursday after the First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar Teny met in his office with the Troika Ambassadors in South Sudan to discuss issues pertaining implementation of the Revitalized Peace Agreement.
In a statement to the media, the UK Ambassador, Jonny Baxter who spoke on behalf of the Troika Ambassadors called on Machar and President Kiir to engage themselves in face to face talks to iron the issues impeding the peace agreement.
He said that they are deeply concerned by the recent developments in the country.
“Our discussion with the First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar centered on how to de-escalate the recent tensions and how to increase the momentum in the implementation of the agreement,” Baxter said.
Earlier last month, fresh clashes hit the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition in Longechuk County in Upper Nile State on Thursday.
In the same month, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army in Opposition (SPLM/A-IO) tendered a letter to the Chairperson of the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission, (RJMEC) suspending their participation in the meetings of the Ceasefire Monitoring body including the RJMEC.
The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army in Opposition (SPLM/A-IO) accused the SSPDF soldiers for attacking and taking control of their positions in Jekou.
The fighting that erupted was between parties to the 2018 Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan.
Some media reported of security deployment around the streets of Presidential Palace J1 and the routes leading to Dr. Riek Machar’s premise over the weekend as the two principals differ on the unification of unified forces command.
These developments signaling fragile working relationship between the two main principals of the Revitalized agreement prompted President Salva Kiir to call for a press conference to restore public hope in the peace implementation and he reiterated his pledge of no return to war despite the bumpy road.
The President stressed that the presence of the soldiers on the road doesn’t mean that there is war but was meant to protect Dr. Machar.