Sudan, S. Sudan to resume talks

Sudan and South Sudan hold high expectations of the their meeting in Ethiopia, the first since negotiations were suspended during fighting last month.

"Resuming negotiations between the two countries is a positive sign and means there is hope to reach consensus on the pending issues, among which security is the top issue," Omer Eisa Ahmed, charge of affairs at the Sudan embassy in Beijing, told China Daily.

Sudan's army began to withdraw on Wednesday from the Abyei region, which contains rich oil fields and is contested by neighboring South Sudan, "to create a conducive atmosphere for the talks", Ahmed said.