US Obama to meet South Sudan Kiir in New York Article Comments (9) Email PrintSave --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
September 16, 2011 (Washington) — US President Barak Obama will meet next week in the margins of the UN General Assembly with the President of the Republic of South Sudan, Salva Kiir Mayadrit to mark his support to theworld’s newest state. U.S. President Barack Obama (Getty) South Sudan declared its independence on 9 July after a referendum on self determination run in January of this year where Southerners voted overwhelmingly for secession from Sudan. However, many political and economic challenges face the newly independent state. "We welcome, of course, South Sudan as the newest member state of the United Nations. The United States has played a long role in supporting a resolution to the conflict in Sudan and self-determination for the South Sudanese," said Ben Rhodes, a US deputy national security advisor on Friday. "So this will be a meeting to mark that progress", he emphasized. South Sudan stability is threatened by the dispute over Abyei with the Republic of Sudan but also the recent rebellions in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile, two states bordering the South and where the rebels are former comrades of the ruling party in Juba. The US expressed concerns over the humanitarian situation there and called upon the government of Sudan and the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement- North (SPLM-N) to stop the fighting and to reach a negotiated solution. However, Washington also seek to neutralize Juba in these two recent disputes and the eight year old conflict in Darfur region as Khartoum accuses Juba of harboring and supporting the three rebellions. (ST) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "JFD info" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/jfdinfo?hl=en.
