Sudan and its neighbor South Sudan are locked in talks on a dispute over oil revenues and transit fees in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa that have raised bilateral tensions and threaten to unravel a peace deal.
In a press release published in local media on Monday, Khartoum said Juba had discussed resuming exports through Sudan "as soon as the two sides reach a commercial agreement."
The leaders of both countries failed to agree on a deal to end an oil dispute during the last round of talks, mediated by the African Union. Last month, the south cut off oil output after it accused the north of stealing $815 million worth of its oil.
Both Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir and South Sudanese President Salva Kir have in recent days hinted that the two former civil war foes may be close to war.
As the dispute drags on, South Sudan last week signed a memorandum of understanding with Ethiopia to build an alternative pipeline to the port of Djibouti. South Sudanese Information Minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin was quoted as saying a Texas-based company could build the pipeline in six months.
South Sudan took three quarters of Sudan's oil when it gained independence last July as part of a comprehensive peace agreement reached in 2005. But the south has little infrastructure and relies on northern pipelines to export its oil. Khartoum has demanded $32/barrel in transit fees while Juba has offered $1/b.
The two sides did sign a "treaty of non-aggression" on their disputed border Friday, chief negotiator of the Addis Ababa talks Thabo Mbeki, the former president of South Africa, told reporters.
According to the pact, the two sides agreed to show "respect for each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity" and to "refrain from launching any attack, including bombardment."
Negotiations between the two neighbors have been marred by eruptions of violence along the border, including in the contested Abyei and Blue Nile states.
