Juba, October 20, 2019 (SSNA) — South Sudan’s rival leaders, President Salva Kiir and Dr. Riek Machar held their second face-to-face meeting today but the meeting ended without any progress, a senior aide to Machar who was at the meeting but requested his name not be published because he was not authorized to speak to the media told the South Sudan News Agency (SSNA) in Juba on Sunday.
During the meeting, Kiir and Machar were briefed by their peace implementation teams about the progress and obstacles they face.
The assistant described as a “blame game,” adding, “what the government is doing is a delaying tactic like they did in 2015 and 2016.”
In the meeting, Kiir’s team claimed that the peace process “is going as planned.” Machar’s team appeared to be not on the same boat with their colleagues. They said “no major progress has been made” and that something needs to be done to expedite the implementation of security arrangements.
The two camps abruptly ended their meeting after the UN Security Council asked Kiir and Machar to meet with them.
It is not clear when the two leaders will meet again. However, the same Machar’s assistant said Machar and Kiir could meet later today, tomorrow, or another time.
The South Sudan News Agency understands the two rival leaders ordered their teams to continue working on the implementation process.