JUBA, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopian Foreign Minister Tedros Adhanom said Thursday the talks held between Kenyan, Ethiopian leaders and South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit was "very constructive."
"The talks were very constructive and frank," Adhanom, who was accompanying the Ethiopian Prime Minister in his visit to South Sudan, was quoted as saying.
He said that the three leaders discussed cessation of hostilities, release of detainees and starting of immediate dialogue with the focus on the humanitarian aspect.
The visit of the Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and the Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn to South Sudan Thursday came as part of the efforts of the African Union and the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) to find a solution to the armed conflict in the south.
In the meantime, Paris-based Sudan tribune quoted South Sudanese sources as saying direct negotiations would begin between Kiir and sacked former vice-president Riek next Tuesday in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa.
Violent clashes erupted in South Sudan last week between two military factions, one descending from the Dinka tribe to which Kiir belongs, and the other descending from the Nuer tribe to which Machar belongs.
Machar was sacked from his post a few months ago and has been accused of plotting against the government since the eruption of the clashes within the military.
According to United Nations reports, over 1000 people have been killed and around 60,000 displaced since the eruption of the clashes in the south.
