Sudan and South Sudan have a chance at peace, UAE paper 

(MENAFN - Emirates News Agency (WAM)) A UAE paper has said the deal between Sudan and South Sudan on oil and borders is an opportunity to be optimistic about the future, and realistic about the many points of friction that remain.

"For now, the prevailing sentiment is relief," The National said in its today's editorial entitled " Sudan and South Sudan have a chance at peace".

The deal, when they came, didn't appear at the last minute but well into extra time. In order to get Sudan and South Sudan to sit down and negotiate a settlement to their apparently intractable problems, the UN Security Council cajoled, threatened and finally set a deadline of last Saturday for a deal, before sanctions would be imposed on both countries, the paper wrote.

And on Thursday, the deal on oil and borders were announced. "The question now is whether two states, whose people have been at war for decades, can translate intent into lasting stability and peace," the paper questioned and added:

"The two Sudans need to resolve their issues transparently, for the sake of both their peoples and the wider region. Their economies remain fragile, and without a robust agreement, will continue to decline."