After a fresh impasse in the Tumaini peace talks, the
government declared it would review its strategy.
The announcement came after President Salva Kiir received a
detailed briefing on Wednesday from the government delegation about the
progress of the negotiations in Nairobi.
After months of deadlock following SPLM-IO’s withdrawal, the Tumaini peace talks were relaunched on December 4, aiming to reach an agreement with non-signatories within 14 days. The goal was to deliver a symbolic Christmas gift to South Sudanese citizens.
However, the talks fell short of this ambition, ending
instead in a fresh deadlock over the initial protocols. This setback has
prompted the government to reconsider its strategy for advancing the peace
process.
“President Kiir is dedicated to achieving lasting peace and
forging a quite implementable agreement with the holdout groups, underscoring
the importance of collective efforts in supporting the Revitalized Agreement on
the Resolution of the Conflict [R-ARCSS],” said Puot Kang, deputy head of the
government delegation to the Tumaini peace talks.
With talks adjourned until next year, Kang said the
government will come up with new steps before they resume.
“The presidency is set to outline the next steps to be
taken, as talks are scheduled to resume in early January,” he said.
The president also received the most recent documentation from the mediation team, setting the foundation for future talks.
