Next round of talks between the two ruling partners in Sudan, namely the National Congress Party ( NCP) in the north and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) in the south, on sensitive issues relating to the upcoming referendum in southern Sudan has been postponed, an African mediator announced on Monday, Xinhua reported.
Thabo Mbeki, former South African president and head of the African Union panel on Sudan, told reporters following a meeting with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir that the next round of negotiations between the NCP and the SPLM, which had been slated to be held in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa on Wednesday, was postponed, and a new date was not defined.
However, he ruled out an impact of the postponement on the preparations for the southern Sudan referendum, which is scheduled on Jan. 9 to decide the fate of the currently semi-autonomous region, adding that more time was needed for the parties concerned to deliberate over the agenda of the next Addis Ababa talks.