Bashir committed to dialogue with South Sudan

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir pledged on Monday to continue the approach of dialogue to resolve its pending issues with South Sudan while he called on Juba to stop supporting the rebels fighting Khartoum.In a speech at the parliament, Bashir said “in spite of repeated violations by South Sudan and its harbouring of rebels, we are moving on with our policy of dialogue and negotiation to resolve the existing problems between us.”“South Sudan should lift its hand from the rebels in South Kordofan and Blue Nile and stop the aggression on our borders,” he said, adding that these moves would be the key to resolving the disputes over the border, oil sharing and other outstanding issues.Bashir criticised the hostile policy pursued by the government of South Sudan, noting that “the recent attacks on areas in South Kordofan showed evidence of the unjustifiable spirit of aggression of South Sudan.”Sudan and South Sudan have not yet completed the demarcation of their common border, which is one of their disputed issues to be resolved in the post-secession negotiations.