Washington Urges South Sudan to Form Transitional Government on Time

Tibor Nagy, the US Assistant Secretary of State for Africa, speaks during a news conference on the case of Sudan, in the US Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia June 14, 2019. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri
Tibor Nagy, the US Assistant Secretary of State for Africa, speaks during a news conference on the case of Sudan, in the US Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia June 14, 2019. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri
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Washington Urges South Sudan to Form Transitional Government on Time

Tibor Nagy, the US Assistant Secretary of State for Africa, speaks during a news conference on the case of Sudan, in the US Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia June 14, 2019. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri
Tibor Nagy, the US Assistant Secretary of State for Africa, speaks during a news conference on the case of Sudan, in the US Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia June 14, 2019. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri

The United States has urged parties to the South Sudan conflict to swiftly resolve outstanding issues and form a Transitional National Unity Government as scheduled in February.

US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Tibor Nagy has held talks with South Sudan's President Salva Kiir, opposition leader Riek Machar and a number of officials in Juba.

He called on all parties to form the Transitional National Unity Government on Feb. 12 and stressed Washington’s rejection of a proposal submitted by South Africa’s deputy president David Mabuza, who is leading the mediation, to resolve the problem on the number of states and their boundaries through arbitration after 90 days.

The armed opposition rejected participating in the government before the outstanding issues on security arrangements and the number of states and borders are resolved.

Kiir and Machar have earlier agreed to extend the period to form the transitional government from Nov. 12 until Feb. 12.

They both signed, along with a number of opposition factions, a peace agreement in September 2018 to end the five-year civil war, which killed hundreds of thousands and displaced more than two million.

Meanwhile, the UN mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) said it is willing to deploy more troops in Juba and troubled areas in the country but asked for a collective agreement.

On Jan. 17, head of the SPLM-IO Defense Committee Angelina Teny proposed to deploy UN forces in the capital and troubled areas such as Yei and Juba-Nimule route.

In response to this request, the head of UNMISS, David Shearer, told reporters on Thursday that the peacekeeping mission is ready to deploy more troops during the roll-out of the newly trained unified forces.

The United Nations now has the capacity to increase its presence to support disarmament and confidence-building, Shearer said.

“But, any change in our deployment should come as a request agreed by all the parties,” he added, noting that their role remains supportive to the South Sudanese forces.

“Maintaining security and law enforcement will always remain the government’s core responsibility. The UN cannot and will not play that role,” he stressed.



Iran’s Khamenei Rejects US Nuclear Proposal, Vows to Keep Enriching Uranium

Iranians drive past a wall painting of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei (R) and late Iranian supreme leader Khomeini (L) on a street in Tehran, Iran, 01 June 2025. (EPA)
Iranians drive past a wall painting of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei (R) and late Iranian supreme leader Khomeini (L) on a street in Tehran, Iran, 01 June 2025. (EPA)
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Iran’s Khamenei Rejects US Nuclear Proposal, Vows to Keep Enriching Uranium

Iranians drive past a wall painting of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei (R) and late Iranian supreme leader Khomeini (L) on a street in Tehran, Iran, 01 June 2025. (EPA)
Iranians drive past a wall painting of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei (R) and late Iranian supreme leader Khomeini (L) on a street in Tehran, Iran, 01 June 2025. (EPA)

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday a US proposal for a nuclear deal was against Tehran's national interests, and that the country would not abandon uranium enrichment.

The issue of uranium enrichment has been a sticking point in negotiations between the US and Iran. Uranium enrichment remained key to Tehran's nuclear program, Khamenei said in a speech.

On Monday, an Iranian diplomat told Reuters Tehran was poised to reject a US proposal to end a decades-old nuclear dispute, dismissing it as a "non-starter" that fails to soften Washington's stance on uranium enrichment or to address Tehran's interests.

Tehran says it wants to master nuclear technology for peaceful purposes and has long denied accusations by Western powers that it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons.