South Sudan Says its not Afraid of Ethiopia, has Nothing to Explain After Recent Meetings with Egypt

South Sudanese officials have stepped up their rhetoric against Ethiopia in what analysts see as a crucial moment in the relations between the two countries. An official with South Sudan’s ministry of information recently said his government was not afraid of Ethiopia.

Ethiopia has been looking at Juba with second thoughts lately after South Sudan’s embraced Egypt’s policy towards the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam ^[1]and the Nile water agreement.

An official, who is a close aide to the information minister Michael Makuei, has said the government of South Sudan was not afraid of Ethiopia and that the country had nothing to explain, adding that the country would press on with its strategic relations with Egypt.

“It’s a normal practice to look out for your own interests; all countries do that……. we are ‘not afraid’ of any country, be it within the region (Ethiopia) or beyond, I think our ambassador in Addis Ababa made it clear to them on Ethiopian Broadcasting Television that we do not have to explain anything on our diplomatic relations with other countries” said Atem Deng Makuac an official at the ministry of information in Juba

Makuac’s statement comes just a day after the South Sudanese ambassador to Ethiopia was summoned on national television to explain President Kiir’s recent visit to Egypt and to dispel recent rumors that South Sudan and Egypt agreed on a “dirty dea^[2]l” over Ethiopia’s building of a mega Dam on the river Nile.

The official said the government in Juba would not back down from any deal with the Egyptian government due to their long standing relations.

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[Source: CT Snow/CC BY 2.0]^[4][5]