South Sudan Offers ‘Billions’ in Aid as Sudan Pulls Out of Talks

South Sudan said neighboring Sudan pulled out of talks planned for tomorrow in Addis Ababa, even as the southern country offered “billions” in aid to make up for lost oil revenue, according to the country’s chief negotiator.

“We presented a very reasonable and logical proposal in which we are prepared to assist the north,” Pagan Amum told reporters in Juba, the southern capital, today.

The African Union is facilitating talks between the central African neighbors to deal with issues lingering about South Sudan’s independence from Sudan in July. That includes fees land-locked South Sudan will pay to transport its oil through a pipeline running across the north.

Al-Obaid Murawih, a spokesman for the Sudanese Foreign Ministry, had his mobile phone turned off today. The talks are also meant to discuss the status of the disputed region of Abyei and undemarcated parts of the border.

Upon independence, South Sudan assumed control of almost 75 percent of Sudan’s daily production of 490,000 barrels of oil, pumped mainly by China National Petroleum Corp., Malaysia’s Petroliam Nasional Bhd and India’s Oil & Natural Gas Corp.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jared Ferrie in Juba via Nairobi at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Antony Sguazzin at asguazzin@bloomberg.net.