البشير يوافق على لقاء سلفا .. باقان : متفائلين وننتظر الرد من جوبا

Quote: The landlocked South shut down its oil output - which accounted for about 98 percent of its state revenues - in January in a row with Khartoum over how much it should pay to export oil through the north to Red Sea ports. But the two are "very close" to a final oil transport accord, another diplomat said, adding that the sides were discussing technical aspects of restarting production. "Discussions for a final oil deal are in the last stage. There is no big obstacle left," the diplomat said. Diplomats say the main goal now is to get Sudan to agree to a demilitarised border buffer zone, a first step toward settling broader disputes over the volatile, poorly demarcated frontier. Sudan objects to a map proposed by the AU which puts a 14-km (8.7-mile) strip inside the South's territory. The land is fertile grazing ground for Arab tribes allied to Khartoum. Diplomats said the two sides were discussing a deal that would see South Sudan's army pull out of the area, with its ultimate fate to be decided later. "There is huge pressure on Sudan to say yes to the map. Experts are now discussing how to work around Sudan's security concerns," said a diplomatic source close to the South's delegation. "If Khartoum says no they will be blamed for the failure so they will probably move towards a compromise." Once a buffer zone has been agreed, southern oil exports can resume, which would give a lift to both economies and an incentive to both sides to keep discussing other, more complex issues. But one of the most daunting - the fate of the contested Abyei border region - will not be solved in this round of talks. Western powers hope for more significant progress once the sides agree to resume oil exports, which would take several months because the pipelines were flooded with water and some oil fields damaged during fighting in April.